


Bohemian Rhapsody

by Niji_Hitomi_Iscariot, Silver_Eternity



Category: Bleach
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Eggs, Eventual mpreg, M/M, Minor Character Death, Multi, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Other, Revenge, but not really, hollows - Freeform, i have my own system, in which ichigo is a dragon, social dymanics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-06
Updated: 2019-01-29
Packaged: 2019-03-27 16:27:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 48,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13884690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Niji_Hitomi_Iscariot/pseuds/Niji_Hitomi_Iscariot, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silver_Eternity/pseuds/Silver_Eternity
Summary: "Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, no escape from reality. Open your eyes, look up to the skies, and see. I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy, because I'm easy come, easy go, little high, little low. Any way the wind blows, doesn't really matter to me. Mama, just killed a man. Put a gun against his head, pulled the trigger; now he's dead. Mama, life had just begun. Now I've gone and thrown it all away. Mama, ooo. Didn't mean to make you cry. If I'm not back again this time tomorrow, carry on, carry on; as if nothing really matters."~~Or~~In which Ichigo, fed up with the monotonous routine his life has fallen into, and discontent with feelings and urges he doesn't understand and no one can explain, takes a nap. And the chaos he wakes up to when his chance to get revenge on the first bastard who's ever wronged him is delivered to him with a bow on top.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Ironically enough, I was ~~bullied~~ encouraged to start posting this by the wonderful folks over in the Flash Trash chat on Discord. All because I started talking about this version of "a/b/o", which I'm sorta tentatively calling "a/b/d/g"? Anyway, here's how it works.
> 
> Alpha - reproductively male; produces sperm; sires children. Very slow power growth, and level by level comparison they tend to be weaker than their respective mates. Socially they're expected to provide for their mates, hunt and support the pack, in modern settings I would translate this into being the breadwinner, the one with the highest paying job, etc. Often falls victim to toxic masculinity tropes, and a few bad apples makes the whole gender suspect of being assholes.
> 
> Beta - reproductively female; produces eggs; carries pregnancies. Power-wise are the strongest of the four genders, often gaining new abilities and powers in leaps and bounds, seems to only need cursory training before mastering new techniques. Socially they're expected to take care of the children and the home, to let the other members of their pack bring in money and food and pay the bills. Can be treated like the "lesser gender" a la housewife stereotypes and such. Are regularly underestimated by ignorant people who expect "submissive" to mean "weak" or "pregnant" to mean "helpless".
> 
> Delta - functionally intersex; can produce eggs or sperm depending on the pheromones around them; can successfully sire or carry a child to term. They tend to be stronger than Alphas power-wise, but weaker than Betas. Most of their abilities tend to develop in support of their Alpha and Beta mates, like healing abilities or defensive powers. Are subject to bisexual stereotypes. Can be seen as greedy or unable to choose whether they're submissive or dominant. Constantly compared to both Alphas and Betas as though Deltas aren't good enough to do either.
> 
> Gamma - sterile; cannot produce offspring of any kind or in any fashion. Many are asexual, but not all of them. In pack settings, they exist primarily to help take care of children, and as such are often as strong as the Beta partners. Their potential to gain power is directly proportional to how much they need; e.g. someone who has people to defend will likely grow stronger than if they didn't have a reason to train for it. They can be seen as a loose canon because of this, and are regularly overlooked because until they have a reason to grow, they typically don't. Socially they've been accused of being jealous of Betas who can carry their own offspring, while at the same time are called prudish and stuck up for not wanting to carry their own children.
> 
> If you have questions, feel free to ask! <3

That pothole a block before his stop was the best alarm clock Ichigo ever had, even if he did have to spend a moment after climbing off the bus rubbing the spot where his head connected with the window every damn time. Two decades of Goat Face punching him awake, and a year spent being jolted out of his pre-spar nap by that damn pothole... it was a wonder he didn't have permanent brain damage. Well, at least not any more than any other overpowered sellsword on Soul Society's payroll--oh wait...

He rolled his shoulders, feeling the vertebrae crackle and pop between his skull and his ribs. Then he forced his chin to either side for a series of cracks up his neck. He yawned wide enough to pop his jaw, and dipped down to crack hips, knees, and ankles all in one deep squat. Someday, when his hair was less vibrant orange, he'd regret torturing the cartilage of his body this way, but for now it was the only thing that fully prepared him for the first of the night's attackers. Maybe if he got through his walk home fast enough, he could get the drop on Goat Face, and skip over Karen... Ha! Like that was gonna happen now that she had kido training with Hitsugaya.

Reaching for the strap of his backpack--next to the bus stop bench, where he'd left it to limber up--he stopped. He glanced up. Oh hell the fuck no! His hand curled around the strap, the laptop and textbooks slammed against his back with a thud, and he marched towards the next telephone pole, his glare darker than it had ever been.

"No! Fuck you! No!" He railed at the blue-haired menace in his path, "I was up before dawn. All of my classes want at  _ least _ four pages of single spaced ten point font by Friday. And tomorrow I have to work a double for Unagiya because her goddamned son has some kind of bullshit  _ thing _ at his school that she has to be there for. So no! Not tonight. I have too much shit going on, and not enough patience to promise I won't rip your fucking balls off with my teeth just so you can have a playdate with my goddamned sword! Fuck off and suck Kisuke's dick!"

He flattened the stunned panther with his reiatsu and crossed the street without even giving him a chance to respond. In fact he didn't let up until he found himself in the old playground near the river. The nostalgia blew the wind out of his sails, his temper draining away as fast as his aura, and he slumped onto one of the two remaining desolate swings. His bookbag hit the ground with a bit of a squelch and Ichigo found he couldn't even bring himself to care enough to check that his laptop wasn't wet.

Instead, he leaned his head against the chain and sighed, closing his eyes. So. Fucking. Tired.

From on the inside came the lightest touch, the internal equivalent of a light pat on the shoulder.  _ King? Are ya… okay? Ya seem a touch… stressed. _

Putting it lightly. Ichigo deeply hated Aizen, and there he'd gone and very nearly duplicated Aizen's 'subjugation' trick. The feline had been outright stunned, the inner Hollow could tell, and even he was wary to push too hard. In the past, he might have been stupid enough to think this a moment of weakness, a break in Ichigo's mind he could push.

Experience had taught him better. This was an anger, and even this light touch might be enough to get him a lashing, and when the King was this angry, the crop came down hard on his Horse.

Ichigo inhaled, and fell backwards into his mindscape, eyes still closed, to land spread eagle on the glass of a sideways building. If rain was depression, drought was stress. The little bit of greenery that grew between the skyscrapers was brittle and brown. It crackled in the wind, threatening to disintegrate on the breeze. Zangetsu made a rumble, and Ichigo scowled, "Fuck it."

Shirotsuyo blinked at his King from where he sat, clasping his knees. "Uh... wha'?" He didn't come into his mindscape like this; his body was sort of just… staring, on autopilot, and almost absently the Hollow ordered it to sit on a nearby bench out of the way.

"Fuck wha', King?"

"You drive. I'm taking a nap."

There was only silence for a while. Only the wind between the buildings. Then Zangetsu seemed to ruffle his cloak, and Ichigo peeked an eye open. The amber landed on the sword spirit, who shrugged as though they were speaking telepathically, and Ichigo re-focused on his Hollow.

"Here's the rules. You can do whatever you want, but if you hurt anyone I care about I will wake up. And trust me," his voice dropped to the rumble of thunder, and was accompanied by a sudden elimination of sunlight by murderous storm clouds, "you do  _ not _ want to wake me up. Clear?"

He coughed, jumping to his feet. "Crystal, King! Uh. Jus' ta be perfectly clear.  _ Anythin' _ short'a threatenin' yer nakama or family?" He knew what HE wanted to do. He also knew this was some sort of test, and if he failed, he would know what true misery was for the rest of his existence.

"Yes. Anything short of hurting the pack." As the King curled into himself, he didn't even seem to register he'd translated his wishes into language the Hollow would understand.

Shiro knew who was pack and who wasn't, but Ichigo tended to avoid using phrases like that to nearly the exclusion of all else. He, in the past, had tried to distance himself from his Hollow instincts, from everything that made him not exactly human. Zangetsu was snubbed similarly, but in the sense that the Quincy was now mute, unable to divide their loyalty. He still got his point across and seemed perfectly fine with the situation; it wasn't like he talked much before anyway. But Ichigo's refusal to accept his Hollow instincts almost bordered on obsessive. Right down to forcing himself to try and maintain a human sleep schedule--which failed, often.

Hollows had types. They mimicked Living World animals that way. Eating habits, denning habits, sleeping habits, etc. So a cat like Grimmjow needed to sleep upwards of 18 hours a day, mostly taken in hour-long periods where he merely dozed, just under the surface of wakefulness, and culminated in a four to six hour stretch of deep REM sleep. Because of Ichigo's stubborn refusal to give in to these demands on his body, he spent at most six hours out of 24 sleeping. It wasn't even entirely clear what type he was! All because he refused to explore it. Like he knew if he did, he wouldn't like what he found. Or worse.

But now?

He seemed to have some knowledge that he hadn't shared with Shiro. Some internal information that allowed him to sink deeper into sleep than he had ever gone. And across the city, the sun shone, hot and supportive. The best description came from a memory when Ichigo had been quite small, and he'd come across a small garter snake, curled atop the concrete of his back step. For all that the tiny reptile couldn't close its eyes, it was contently basking in the afternoon sunshine.

And that was what it felt like now. Only Ichigo was the snake.

"Got it, King," he murmured quietly, and paid his King his obeisance with a deep bow before doing as he was told. Those were orders he could understand, and more, could easily follow. That made this test much easier to pass, and he was honestly too relieved to dare question it much.

So he did what any smart Hollow does when handed a perfect prize; he took it and ran.

A quick stop at their human residence to drop off their human body into the safekeeping of Kon, and the Horse was ready. He let his reiatsu overtake his King’s signature, and embraced the physical transformation that came with it, the claws, the horns, the teeth. Oh yes, this was what he was supposed to be! This was what he was! Preparations complete, he tore open the Garganta and gleefully leapt on through.

Time to do what was natural and discover exactly what they were, and how their instinct served them.


	2. Grand Fisher Dies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He was the only thing that could wake Ichigo from his years-long nap, and now that he's awake, he has to figure out what to do with the reality he's woken up to... and what that means for him.

Ichigo didn't really know how long he slept, but when next he allowed his senses to spread out over the territory they held, it was because his attention had been drawn by an old... friend.

The first whiff he got was of river water, bogged down by too many weeds and left to rot in the mud. It hung in the air like the cloying moss dripping down the side of a stone worn smooth with time. It stank of dying mosquitos, and gasping fish. Bringing darkness to the summery warmth of his mindscape. It blotted out his sense of the moon hanging overhead, and prickled his skin with an oily quality that spewed sludge all over his dreams.

He had to admit it took him a few moments to actually put it together; sleep-fogged as he was. But when he had...

He shot to the surface of their mind like a sky-blue rocket, throwing his Horse into the background without bothering to shift their physical appearance. A roar of pure rage tore from his throat, challenging and dominant. This was His territory. And of all people  _ that one _ was most unwelcome!

Shiro, who had been in the middle of evaluating if the intruder in his territory was worth eating or not, was stunned. It had been  _ so long _ since his King had begun dreaming, he had become used to controlling the body unchallenged. So it was with great stiffness and ache that he pried his body up from where it lay on the side of a building, hand to his face- too human face. Yes, he had forgotten he was without a mask here. In the Mindscape he took the form that pleased his King to look upon; that of his own face, bare for His judgement.

Confused, and alarmed, the Hollow came to the barest edge of their senses, not encroaching but peering out through them. He hadn't threatened the Pack! He swore he had not, he had left all the Pack safe behind in the living world! Whatever had woken his King, and with such a fury?!

The Adjuchas was barely worth their attention power-wise, but he was old. Old enough that his mask had begun to crumble on its own. The grin was missing teeth, and his lure, once so proudly arched over his head, dangled to the side. His hair hung heavy and limp, the color faded to a dull grey-brown, and he ambled through the sand aimlessly while Ichigo ricocheted off rocks towards him.

"GRAND FISHER!" The Vasto Lorde screamed, echoing his battle cry across the silent desert. "YOUR MASK IS MINE!"

For a moment, the older Hollow seemed confused, lost even, but then the reiatsu signature flared across his senses; and the words caught up to him seconds before the great drake was on him. For what it was worth, he tried to put up a fight. But in the years since they had clashed, Ichigo had only gotten stronger, while Fisher had grown complacent. There was barely a heartbeat between the impact of all four taloned feet and the deathcry when Ichigo tore his mask from his face. Blood and gore stained the sand, muddy green just like the rest of him, and the prehensile tip of Ichigo's tail, dipped in crimson, curled through one of the empty eye sockets of Fisher's mask while Ichigo shredded the parasite's soul fragments.

Some part of him noted that they didn't disintegrate as they should have, given his beginnings as a Shinigami, but that was pushed to the back of his mind as his eyes, still blue-rimmed and gold from the fight, landed on a tiny ball of pure soul, deep in the center of the noxious muck.

He curled his talons around it gently, lifting it from the mire with the delicacy of a creature half his size. His head cocked to the side as his internal sense of self registered that the ball was easily the size of a full grown human. Which meant, because he could hold it completely in the palm of his hand, that he was quite a bit bigger than the average human. It was something to work on later, he surmised, refocusing on the task at hand. Picking his way back on two legs felt unfamiliar and strange, but he didn't dare release the soul in his claws.

She was too precious.

And he'd waited far too long, worked too hard, to let her go now.

Shiro only watched, combing through the memory attached to that name. Grand Fisher… oh. OH. The one who killed--!

"King. King, izzat...?"

Human, female, pure soul,  _ blue _ soul… Quincy blue. And he could feel his King trembling as though under a great spiritual pressure. That HAD to be her.

Mother.

Shiro swallowed. "We… we can't keep 'er here, King," he whispered, soft and low. "Th'outskirts o' Vasto Lorde Plains ain't someplace safe fer a soul strong's hers. Even wit' how powerful we are, would only take a bug slippin' past us ta lose 'er again."

"I know!" Ichigo growled, louder than he meant to, "Let me think."

Once he was far enough from the bloodstain that had been Grand Fisher, he sat, his tail curled around his feet like a cat's, and he swung the tip back and forth, soothed by the shift of the worn mask against his scales.

"We can't konso her. Even if I drew Zangetsu right now, we are no longer Shinigami." That much was obvious beyond their physical appearance.

"Righ'. An' ya sure's fuck can't take 'er ta Soul Society yerself," Shiro added. "They'll rip ya 'part on sight, thinkin' I ate you. Well, they'll try," he corrected with a roll of his eyes. "Bu' they migh' damage HER tryin'a get at ya, so tha's out. Wha' 'bout th'Pack? Ain't we got somebody could Konso 'er ta transport 'er safely? Got a handful o' Shinigami in th'Pack, an' we'd know we could trust 'em ta handle 'er gently."

The King was quiet for a while, contemplating his options. Of the Pack, the likelihood of catching one of the full-time Shinigami outside of Soul Society was slim. So that meant they had to go to one of the exiles. Shinji's Pack was an option, but only one Ichigo was willing to explore if he had ruled everything else out first. If for no other reason than the pesky blond Pack leader asked too many questions and demanded subservience without having earned it, all because he'd been a captain in the Gotei 13 before becoming Hollow. It made a grumble vibrate through Ichigo's chest thinking about it. So, no Shinji unless he absolutely had to. Who did that leave? Yoruichi. She was nosey too. In the way of all felines, and since the fall of Aizen, she spent far more time in Soul Society than Ichigo was currently comfortable with. So no. Urahara was just asking for trouble. No one got anything from the damned perverted ex-soul reaper without owing him something. Last time Ichigo figured, Grimmjow was still paying off the whole 'saving your life' thing. So that left...

Welp.

No time like the present to find out how long he'd been asleep.

He said nothing as he climbed to all fours again, their mother's soul balanced carefully on the sand between his hands, and he shook off, settling his mane and spines. A flick of his tail flung the mask into the sandy wall of their den, embedding it with a collection of others that warned Hollows to stay away. Then he bent down and took the back of her dress between his teeth. His nostrils flared with the scent of her hair and he barely held back the whine that built in the bottom of his throat. Kicking off towards the horizon provided a good distraction, as he wanted to be almost to the edge of the Menos Forest before he ripped the Garganta--no use broadcasting his vacation to the Living World unnecessarily.

Shiro didn't comment, merely memorized her scent for future reference, and used little nudges of instinct to help Ichigo find his way around a few more dangerous territories on the way. The scent of those territories only told the power levels of the owner, not if they were potential trouble. There, a snake-based Hollow that could easily slip around their claws, and in that one a Hollow that launched spines and could potentially separate them from their precious cargo; using such information, Shiro carefully guided his King through the territories of lesser Hollows until they reached the edge of the Menos Forest.

Once there, Shiro piped up again. "King? It's… been a long time. Been evolving an' growin', and even wit'out any kinda reference ta time in th'Livin' world I know we been gone… a LONG time. People're probably thinkin' yer dead. We'll prob'y be 'tacked within coupl'a minutes o' comin' through."

"I figured that much out already." It came out a little garbled around his fangs, but the mental echo helped with translation as he leaned back and swiped the air with his claws. "That's why I'm taking us straight to Dad. Even if Soul Society has the place staked out, he'll know what to do before they can get at Mom. Nothing is worth more than getting her safely into Soul Society. Even..."

He let it trail off as he loped through the garganta. The path beneath his talons was steady and thick, much thicker than it had been the last time he'd been aware of it, but still rough around the edges.

Shiro merely made a noise of agreement and subsided, concentrating on smoothing the path for his King's feet. He'd forgotten, in his time in control, how to passively let things his King wanted to do merely happen. Yes, his King needed to learn finer control, but he told himself King had just woken up unexpectedly from a very long sleep, and therefore every little thing Shiro could do to pave the way would only benefit them both. If the shared body died, so would he.

It was a good reason to be so helpful.

It also fooled no one.

When they emerged, they were precisely where they wanted to be, approximately a hundred feet above their old home. Ichigo stood on the air, holding Masaki's slumbering soul in his teeth all the more carefully for the drop below them. Even though he knew it wouldn't kill her to fall, instinct was a very powerful thing, and he had been living on his instincts for a long time now. He inhaled over the area, taking in the scents around his old territory, curious more than anything else, and his tail lashed from side to side.

There was a lingering scent of feline; Grimmjow. Had he been scent-marking near the house regularly? That was what it smelled like. Now, whether that was an attempt to stake out the territory Ichigo was most likely to return to, or an attempt to sweeten Ichigo by keeping lower Hollow trash away from his Pack was up for debate. Or the more likely third option, he was trying to aggravate Ichigo by covering his scent marks with his own. Any Hollow would be pissed off enough to seek out and drive off such an offender.

Either way, it was not as much of a concern as the souls in the house, and the one he kept so carefully close. All three of his Pack-Family were home; Karin, her budding reiatsu having grown and been honed. She was no trained Shinigami, not yet, she was still living, but she'd clearly begun at least focusing her reiatsu and learning to weaponize it against weaker enemies. Yuzu's softer spiritual pressure was present as well, low as it was, and both twins were nearly eclipsed by the power their Old Man had blanketing the house and yard.

Fainter scent trails seemed to indicate the rest of the Pack visited here; Chad's trail couldn't have been more than a few hours old, and Uryu and Orihime's scents only a day or two old. In the absence of their leader, they had sought comfort together, as a Pack should. Shiro found that strangely comforting. King wouldn't have to kill anyone for harming his Pack.

As predicted, the full-time Shinigami were fainter, weeks old in some cases, but they had still been there, presumably checking up on Kon and the others. Ichigo made a mental note to seek out Grimmjow at some point to clear up which of the three options he was attempting to pursue, but for now, he bounded from spot to spot like he was coming down a cliff instead of through the night sky. There was little he could do regarding his physical state this soon after waking up, so when he landed on the street outside the clinic, he gave a fwump! And the air puffed out around all four feet, blowing dust up in little clouds.

He sat back on his haunches again, transferring his mother's soul to one hand, and tilted his head to look down at her fully. He blinked, memorizing her face and her scent. Drawing a talon over her shirt--the same one she'd worn the day she died--he unconsciously warbled in the back of his throat. It was an immature noise, but deeper through the vocal cords of an adult Hollow. They'd lost her so young, he couldn't help it.

The door opened, hard, and Shiro's head darted up. "King!"

Their Old Man stood in the doorway, his sword drawn and in his Shinigami form. He seemed to surprised to see the drake, though, and when he saw what- who- was cradled so very carefully in one massive hand his sword dropped an inch.

"M-Masaki?" His eyes snapped up to the face of the strange Hollow, narrowing his eyes as he tried to peer inside that mask. "Did you kill Grand Fisher? His reiatsu is on you."

Much as he wanted to believe, he had to be cautious. What if Fisher had just evolved? What if this was his new lure, to try and get a powerful shinigami soul with little effort?

Ichigo opened his mouth to speak, but the forked tongue that controlled his voice couldn't form human words. His first sound was little more than the warbling beginnings of a shriek, but he cut it off, recognizing the hardness that pinched his father's brow. Instead, he risked it, ducking his head, far enough that Engetsu could cleanse him if Goat Face decided to, and reached out the hand with his mother's soul. Slowly, like the petals of a flower, he opened his talons, supporting her unconscious form where she draped over his palm.

And he offered her to Isshin, praying that the former captain would understand what she needed.

Though he kept one hand firmly on Engetsu, his other hand betrayed him. He reached for her, his love, his wife, and when his hand made contact--

Nothing. It was only the same hair she had always had, soft and long, draped over her shoulder. It slid through his fingers with the feeling of warmth spilling through his soul, and his knees went weak as he looked up into the Hollow's face, then down into hers, then back up again.

"This isn't a trick, is it?" he whispered, fighting to keep his shaky grip on his zanpakuto, and swallowing hard. "You… you really found her. And brought her home. Ichigo."

The great beast looked away. Something about the name, the reminder that he'd turned his back on everything; it shamed him. It hadn't before. He had been comfortable, free. But in the face of his father, on the street where he'd grown up, the weight of the years he'd spent sleeping forced him to deny claim to that name. He hadn't protected anyone. He'd selfishly run away into the desert and abandoned his Pack.

Again he pushed his mother forward, needing to hop slightly closer to ease the stretch of his arm against the spines on his shoulder. And he tried for speech again, "Krrrnsrrrrrrrr."

"K… you want me to konso her?" He looked into Masaki's face, into the unmoving, pale blue face of her soul, and his shoulders fell even as he nodded. "Yes. I-- she's been inside a Hollow's conglomeration of souls… I-I don't even know how she stayed intact… herself… her body is long gone… Karin wouldn't understand… and we don't know how to wake her… yes, of course, you're right," he took a deep breath, and let it out in stutters.

He never thought of having to face this possibility. Knowing Masaki had been killed by a Hollow, knowing very well her soul had been devoured, he had thought that, at best, he could purify Fisher and see some reincarnation who looked like Masaki in a few hundred years. He had never imagined he would be faced with the terrible decision to personally send his wife to Soul Society; not only to be the one who helped her cross from the land of the living, but to send her someplace she had never liked or wanted to go.

She had been dead for so many years, and this suddenly brought it all up fresh. It was like he had to watch her die, this time, not merely lose her. Knowing she had been dead was bad enough, but to watch it happen?

He had never, ever imagined this. Not even when Masaki was living.

But she couldn't stay here. She was Hollow bait, here, even with Ichigo standing guard over her. And he had no way to try and wake her. He didn't know if she could even be woken, or if there was anything left of her besides this soul-shell. Could souls be hollowed out from the inside like a physical body without the soul in it? He was terrified it was possible, and he had no way to help his beloved in the human world.

"I-- I will. But… in a few moments? I want… to memorize her face again," he said quietly, caressing one still cheek with his hand. He had forgotten how vital her face was, even still and quiet. Yes, he had the poster; it paled in comparison to the real thing.

Ichigo ducked his head again, this time his tail curled around them, the vibrant red tip shimmering slightly in the streetlight. He very carefully angled his body to protect his parents, the ridge of spines along his shoulders flared with the same tips of red. He knew he couldn't stay long. A Vasto Lorde of his size and strength in the Living World was sure to alert every sensor and reiatsu sensitive person in at least two worlds. It wouldn't be long before he was challenged. He only hoped that whoever caught his scent would be smart enough to ask questions first; he'd already killed tonight, he wasn't overly interested in doing it again so soon.

He had, in fact, been noticed. And even now, there was the feeling of a vice-captain power seal being released as ash rose on the wind around the house.

Isshin's head jerked up, and he drew protectively closer to the hand holding his wife, once again bringing his zanpakuto into a defensive position. There was no more time.

He didn't let himself think about it; a soft, gentle stamp with the hilt of Engetsu that glowed brightly, and Masaki faded away, transported to Soul Society as safely as any soul could be.

As soon as his mother's soul was gone from his claws, Ichigo was on the defensive! He'd had to fight literally tooth and claw to save his mother, he wasn't about to let ANYTHING harm his father! He coiled around Isshin, and roared into the night with a rattle of spines. It translated in his ears as a battle cry, daring the incoming Shinigami to take his mask, but he was all-too-aware that to non-Hollows, he sounded exactly like a hungry Adjuchas.

The air thickened around them, flicks of flame dancing at the corners of his vision as a hissing sound radiated through the air. Upon the rooftop, directly across from them, appeared a familiar figure, crouched defensively and jaw set.

It was rare to see her in such a serious mood, but she wasn't about to let some Adjuchas threaten Ichigo's family! That boy had done too much for her and Soul Society as a whole to let anything happen to the living that remained.

"Taicho! Are the girls alright?" She clearly didn't expect the Hollow to understand, otherwise she'd never have risked informing it that there was leverage in the house.

"They're fine, Matsumoto! Don't attack, he's not a threat!" Despite being protectively corralled, Isshin wasn't about to let his son throw himself headfirst into a battle he didn't have to.

"What are you talking about?!"

"It's Ichigo! Please, it's not what it looks like!"

She turned her attention to 'Ichigo', but the ashes of her sword remained swirling around him.

The great drake hissed, crimson cero sparking slightly between his horns. He knew Rangiku, recognized her as almost-Pack. She was Pack to Rukia and Rukia was Pack to him, so that counted. Thus, he didn't want to hurt her, but at the same time, he knew how she saw him. Still, he retreated a step, his body curled defensively, and his eyes narrowed.

Almost tentatively, she did the same, taking a single step back and remaining defensive rather than going on the attack. Sometimes, Gin's voice whispered in her ear, a stalemate's the same as a win. Everyone walks away happy.

Haineko growled, still drifting, but began gathering closer to Rangiku instead, who never took her eyes off the Hollow and the Captain in the curve of his body. Her eyes flicked to his tail, and spines, and back to his mask.

"Okay. So. If you're really Ichigo… why did you come back? Everyone gave you up for dead." 

"He found Masaki. He found his mother. And he brought her home, to make sure she stayed safe," Isshin supplied quickly, watching Rangiku's disbelief.

"But Taicho! She was eaten by a Hollow- that's impossible!"

Ichigo cursed, violently shredding the words through the air, even though he knew neither could understand him. How DARE she doubt him! HIM! The one who had seen the end of Aizen's tyranny, stopped Ginjou's plans at the start, and dismantled the undead Quincy army! HE WHO HAD PATHED THE WAY FOR THE BIRTH OF THE NEW SOUL KING! How  _ dare _ she! He spat venom in the form of sound, challenging her to cast him aside as anything less than who he was!

His tail lashed, bringing down the abandoned house across the street in a thunderous crash, and he bared his teeth at her, the jagged fangs of his mask only accentuating the sabers within. But most of all his reiatsu rolled over them both, hot like the sun and heavy like a Summer afternoon. It wasn't oppressive, not like Aizen's or Yamamoto's, or even Hitsugaya's. Ichigo had always had a signature all his own, a pressure that enveloped the senses while still maintaining breath. He didn't dominate, he merely pushed forward with the expectation that everyone would either move or follow, but in either case they would get out of his way.

Rangiku realized her sword was once again sealed only when she took a stunned step forward and almost fell off the roof on which she perched. Her hair snapped in the spiritual wind, and she searched behind the mask for the brown eyes she expected to be there. She found herself disappointed when it was not there, only Hollow-gold, and she shook her head to try and clear it.

"Then… what now? Are you going to leave again? Leave your mother to Soul Society's mercy, and merely HOPE she gets into the academy right away? Remember, Ichigo, that poverty does exist there, classism and starvation into a second death. You kept her safe and- somehow- rescued her from the belly of a Hollow. What now?"

"NO!" The word exploded from him in a wash of blue reiatsu. Dust clouded the street, obscuring their vision and making both Shinigami cough into their sleeves as the debris pulverized around them. Out of the miasma, Ichigo's voice came, cold and harder than it had ever been before, "She'll not be roped into your academy where she can be brainwashed with your racist, classist bullshit! I'll break down Shunsui's door myself if I have to, but you will not TOUCH her!"

As he spoke, the dust began to clear, and he walked on the air towards Rangiku. His hair reached his hips, billowing back in the wind. Gone was the Shinigami shihakusho though, replaced with white hakama and a fitted jacket not unlike Ulquiorra's had been, but edged in crimson. His scowl was only more potent with the Hollow markings around his left eye, and the eye itself was gold on a black sclera. Ichigo was no longer Shinigami in any shape, only the presence of Zangetsu on his back betrayed his beginnings. The Khyber blade was wrapped in bandages, hung on the same crimson sash it always had, but now, a white tanto hung at his hip, swaying with his step like it was taunting them. How little did they know him.

When he was even with her, he tilted his head slightly to the side, looking at her more out of the Hollow eye than the other. "I have no place among your kind, but you know better than most the cost of their bigotry."

"Of course I do. That's why I reminded you how high the cost can be. You've been through a lot, Ichigo, and so has your mother. More than I can understand, I know. And just so, I know she cannot go it alone. She will need help-- she will need  _ you _ ."

She sheathed Haineko and put her back where she belonged on her hip. Tucking her hands into her sleeves, she looked up at him, wondering when he had gotten so tall. And he'd been such a cute teenager. 

"It will do her no favors that she is a Quincy, either. It won't be recognized at first, but once it's known they will be after her. They want her powers, or to strip them. Quincies are, as you well know, still quite dangerous. All of Soul Society owes you. You're a cunning young thing; surely you have an idea what can be done with that sort of leverage."

"You assume I can even get into Soul Society anymore." He glanced at his father, a pang of regret that he'd become something the man inherently feared, and refocused on Rangiku, "I may have Pack beyond Seireitei's walls, but Hell Butterflies don't answer to me, and the Central 46 fear me more than they ever feared Ywach."

"You assume anyone could stop you," she shot back. "They fear you so much they would be willing to negotiate. They know they cannot simply attack you; to do so would not only be a dangerous waste of manpower and a battle they cannot win, but it would spread outrage like a wildfire across all Seireitei. You're the savior of the Winter War AND the Quincy War, and the common soldier will not stand for orders to attack a hero. Not all of us are blindly following orders. Not to mention you have a zanpakuto. Perhaps not a traditional zanpakuto," she allowed with a slight nod, "but he is a zanpakuto all the same, and I would think you have the power to open a senkaimon with him." She paused, and added, "And Aizen showed us that a garganta can just as easily be opened into Soul Society as it can into the living world. Attacking you first is a risk even the Central 46 isn't stupid enough to take."

Ichigo considered, one again looking to his father, "You mean to tell me Shunsui is so stupid as to have not corrected the weakness in Seireitei's barrier that allowed  _ both _ Aizen  _ and _ Ywach to come and go as they pleased? Honestly. How idiotic do you think I am?"

Her mouth twitched even she she tried not to laugh. "I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet yourself. I'm not implying the barrier is weak; I'm implying you're strong enough to simply override the locks. And, of course, there is no real way to guard against a garganta. It peels away the walls between realities; if we had a way to stop that, do you think the Dangai would be so easily accessible? Though if you really wish, there's a much easier, faster path. There's no way to mask your arrival, no matter which route you take there, though. But a Shinigami escort could easily open a senkaimon for you."

"I have lived among a people that don't use eventualities in their language. Tell me plainly what you're offering, Rangiku?"

She crossed her arms over her generous chest. "Kurosaki, I'm offering to put my ass on the line and my neck on the chopping block and escort you to Soul Society myself to find your mother. I grew up in the shithole that is the outer districts and know where to look, since nothing ever changes, and I am offering to keep her safe and close to me until you can… make whatever arrangements you are able and willing to make. I don't know what favors you can cash in on, I only know you have many owed to you. How you go about securing your mother's safety is your business. But… I owe you, too. And I'm willing to pay it back by searching out and then protecting your mother's soul for you."

The smile that curled the left side of Ichigo's mouth was all-too-familiar, and he flash-stepped faster than either Shinigami could see, appearing a breath away from the blonde vice-captain. He leaned in until his lips brushed her ear, "Gin is proud."

Then he flashed away again, this time re-tracing his descent, growing more and more Hollow-like as he bounded away. Eventually the Adjuchas form overtook the human, and a vast Garganta tore through the night sky, separating the moon from the horizon. And he was gone.

In her mind, Haineko huffed, crossing her arms. "Well shit. The creepy bastard says it'll be a week before his mom wakes up, so you should have enough time to organize getting her to the Fourth and warning the Sotaicho he's coming. Don't ask me why HE couldn't have said all that, dramatic asshole, but there you go. I guess he's got Hollow shit or something to do. I dunno."

She sighed, and once again drew her zanpakuto, this time twisting it in thin air to open the senkaimon into the lower districts. "Only a week, huh? Better get on the hunt, then. We've got a lot of ground to cover and a lot of ass to kick. Let's go, Haineko!"

Isshin shook his head and went back in the house. He'd have to think of something to tell the girls if they asked why he'd rushed outside.

And then he'd have to figure out how he was going to live with himself, having sent his wife away from them with his own two hands. But that was a struggle he was going to have to have later, when he had time for it.


	3. Not King... Primera

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro perked. "Ooooh, ohh, c'n I do Nnoitra?! I wanna threaten ta EAT him if he steps outta line an' makes trouble in th'Pack!"
> 
> His tail would have wagged if he still had it in the Inner World with excitement just at the idea. Nnoitra had always gotten on his nerves- attempting to steal his victory, his prey, AND interrupting his fight all in one blow? Oh, no, he had never forgiven him for that.
> 
> "No. If I am to be Primera, he will answer to me, or I will eat him. You know that as well as I do, Shii. They have to bow to you because you are mine, but bowing to something of mine without submitting to me is a mistake I won't make again."

The emergence back into the sands was closer to home than he'd planned, but it literally felt like breaking through the surface of the ocean. That first deep breath of Hueco Mundo's air soothed him far more than anything else that had happened that night. Ichigo closed his eyes and shook off, as though he really had just come out of the water, and he took his time getting back to his den.

Most importantly, because this had been something that had kept him asleep for so long, he accepted that this was his reality. Something he'd fought, and tried to push off, and denied for so long.

He was the White Hollow as much as Shiro was Zangetsu, and as much as the Quincy was Ichigo. They were all reflections of himself, not quite as a single being exactly. He and Shiro felt more like twins, born of the same moment but encased in the same mind, with equally as much right to the body. But they were not a body now. They were more. They were... whole? Ichigo wasn't sure, and he kept a silent counsel as he trotted through the sands.

About half a klik from their den, he gave a small tilt to his head, "Shii..."

Shiro pressed forward, extending his touch to their senses. "Yeah, King. M'here." 

When they neared his particular tree, he nudged Ichigo to rub their jaw along it and scentmark it anew; after all, one had to renew them every time he walked by or someone would assume he'd been eaten and try to take his prime territory, and Shiro had been hard at work making the PERFECT den.

The sand wallow was just the right size for their whole body to hide in to lure prey, the den itself was set in a rock outcropping and he'd carved it to size with his own talons, and the top of the rock was carefully smoothed for moonbathing. On top of that, he'd dug a few storage pits in which he could hold live meals when he was extraordinarily lucky in hunting, and of course there was their mural of masks imbedded in the rock wall, a tally count of survival triumphs.

Nothing was going to steal their den!

Ichigo was already moving towards the next tree, following what registered as his own scent, "We don't have a body anymore."

He drew the length of his side against the boulder that marked their western-most border, then hooked around towards the south, feeling the patience in Shiro's reiatsu.

"Have you ever tried to... be yourself? Apart from me?" He paused, both hands atop the log that he had sleep-hazy memories of having rolled there on purpose, to provide cover and a suitable barrier against the back of their den, since it had been a great petrified tree up until Shiro clawed out the flat spot. "You know, have your own form. Outside."

Shiro was quiet for a moment, looking out through their eyes at the den he had made, had built knowing one day he'd share it with his King, and wanting to impress him when he woke.

"No, King. I've thought about it, an' I don' think it's possible. We're two sides o' one coin- two halves of a whole. Two minds rooted in th'same soul. I migh' be able t'construct a false body fer me ta occupy outta reshi- kinda like constructin' a gigai outta flesh an' bone- bu' I don't think I could sep'rate from ya ta inhabit it. But mebbe tha's just 'cuz ya've been asleep. Mebbe we can sep'rate, now tha' yer awake ta tend th'body we're in now."

"Starrk and Lilynette managed it. Kenpachi and Yachiru as well."

Ichigo hopped over the log, padding to the end of it to spray it. Instinct told him there was another--the word was missing from his vocabulary, but another something just like him--down in that direction and they needed to stay that way, so stronger scents needed to be used to maintain the barrier. Even from this distance, he could smell them, they'd wandered by while he was gone, and it made the edge of his mouth curl up in a snarl unconsciously.

"Just something to think about, I guess."

"Yeah. Maybe somethin' like Kenpatchi an' Yachiru. I don' wanna pay th'price Starrk had'a pay t'let Lilinette out." 

He unconsciously shuddered- masks broken, connection all but lost, nearly unable to rejoin as a whole. No, no he never wanted to weaken them both, not like that.

When they had sprayed the log, his nose tilted up to the east. "Rrrrrrrr. Fucker's been sniffin' aroun'. We were gone less than a fuckin' hour an' already thinkin' a movin' in."

"We can eat them later, there's something this way." Ichigo pulled their head back around and started north again. Their spines flared as they drew closer to the strange scent. "Canine. Small. What does it want?" His head dipped low, his tail curling to trigger the venom glands. "It brings something. It brings... food? Why does it bring food?"

"Oh. It's seeking our favor as a mate," Shiro explained simply. "Hollows gotta simple courting ritual: bring th'one ya seek ta court food they like. If they accept an' return th'favor, th'courtin' was a success an' ya are considered mates. Diff'rent ones 'ave approached us every few days. I've never accepted though, figured ya should 'ave a say in tha'. An' I ain't seen anybody I really like yet anyway."

He shrugged; there were no hard feelings, and since he had always been stronger than the suitors, they had slunk off peacefully to try again another day. And hey, food he didn't have to hunt himself.

"How do we say no?" 

They were coming up on the offering now. It was rather large really, something vaguely bovine in scent and bleeding red into the sands. Or possibly goat? Those horns were quite curled, almost a spiral in the way they waved back and forth over the carcass's head. The suitor didn't seem to be nearby, though their reiatsu hung in the air. It was sharp, and flitted over their senses in the manner of flashstep only faster.

But above all, the closer they got, the more familiar it became.

"Well, ya take th'food an' ya get real mean over it," he explained. "Growl, snarl, make't clear this's yers now because it's YERS, not 'cuz ya accept. Lash yer tail an' roar a bit, hiss an' spit. If they wanna press th'issue they can be food too, an' make sure they know it. Then drag it inta th'den an' we can eat undisturbed."

"Right." Ichigo tilted his head a little, the Hollow equivalent of raising an eyebrow, "And what if we don't accept but know the person giving it?"

His eyes landed on the vulpine man where he was happily seated on a rock not far outside their territory. Polite, and respectful, but also taunting, that smirk wasn't softened at all under the frigid blue that peeked out between his lashes. He knew exactly where he was, and who he was waiting for. And as much as familiar face was welcome in the vast sands, the expectation of the proposal put Ichigo on edge.

"Hello, Gin."

"IN this case in partic'lar, ya can jus' tell 'im so. I, after all, doubt 'is intentions," Shiro said dryly. "I suspect it's less a proposal an' more a bribe. 'E knows yer 'wake an' it's not just me anymore. Prob'ly wants t'talk ta ya, an' figures ya'll give 'im an audience if gifted food. But ya c'n make it clear jus' by askin'. Hollows ain't got time fer shinigami games."

He, too, eyed the fox, twitching lightly. Gin came around to haunt their den once every few weeks, checking up, waiting for his King to come back. He knew that's what he was doing, he always left after determining Ichigo was not present. What he didn't know, what he STILL didn't know… was why. It made him… nervous.

The fox smiled a little wider.

"I'm not mating you, Gin." Ichigo deadpanned, letting his spines relax some, but he remained standing, maintaining his size advantage over his former adversary-turned-ally.

"Aww, ya wound me, Ichi-chan." The silver-haired not-Shinigami popped to his feet. "Butcha got me there. Pity sure yer otha half wouldn't like it ta much if I kept ya ta m'self. An' then there's this dig ya got." He whistled like he was impressed. "S'nice."

"What do you want?" Ichigo snorted, curling his tail.

Gin blinked, a flash of blue that was gone again in an instant. "What've always wanted. You. See things ain't always what they seem, Ichi-chan, an' ya know that better now than ya ever did. Don'tcha."

Shiro snorted, remaining wary, but let Ichigo handle Gin. He was fairly certain Gin did not mean that the way it first sounded- sure, he wanted Ichigo.

Not as a mate, so for what?

He had a suspicion, but it was much easier to just have Gin come out with it.

"Fer th'record King, he wouldn' be able t'keep us from matin' as many people as we want anyway. I jus' think he'd make a bad mate," he snarked, mostly for his own amusement.

Gin twisted his head, like he could hear what Shiro was saying even though the Inner Hollow was only speaking within Ichigo's mind, and the corner of his mouth quirked. "Ya took down Grand Fisher. That's makin' all kinda waves 'cross th'desert. Th'way I figure it, ya'll be up ta yer horns in proposals by this time t'marrah. Nice as this den is, wi'out a good fraccion at yer back, yer just a sittin' duck waitin' fer th'right hunter."

Shiro's eyes narrowed and he growled, but he knew Gin was right. They couldn't turn down EVERY proposal. Well, they could, but sooner or later someone was going to get the drop on them while they were distracted with those proposals. He hated that Gin was right, and hissed at him petulantly even knowing the only one who should hear was Ichigo.

"So what exactly  _ are _ you proposing, Gin?" Ichigo circled to one side of the carcass, putting it behind him in acceptance. He would at least listen before he chased the half-Hollow fox away from his den.

"An... alliance a sorts." Gin stuck his hands in his pockets, conveniently close to where Shinso hung on his hip. "Ya pr'tect me from th' bigger Vasto Lordes, an'... I'll keep some a them proposals off yer back. Least 'til ya get proper fraccìones. A Leader wi'out a Pack's just as vuln'rable as a Pack wi'out a Leader. Ya lead m'pack, an' we'll follah ya. Whatcha think?"

"How big is his pack," Shiro asked right away, tail twitching. "S'not a bad deal unless his pack's too big ta effectively control an' lead. An' further, he wants somethin'. Somethin' more than jus' protection. S'a good deal king… if ya go inta it eyes wide open."

He was pacing inside the inner world, keeping a very suspicious eye on Gin and the rest of his senses on the world around them, keeping a lookout so Ichigo could concentrate.

"How many are you?" Ichigo's spines bristled, his own distrust mixing with Shiro's. "And if you're so desperate for a leader, why hasn't one of your number stepped up? There are always Leaders within a Pack. Even those that haven't had the chance."

Gin shifted his weight, considering. "Welp... after th'Shinigami ran off there was... hmm... Starrk, Halli, no... that's five, plus me makes nine? Yup, nine. Not countin' th'one's Kissu stole durin' that Quincy shit a'course. An' we had a Leader... 'til th'Quincy bastards broke'er."

The spines on Shiro's shoulder bristled like hair on the back of his neck standing up. "Fuckin' Quincy bastards. No wonder they're gettin' despr'te. Tha' fuckin' Quincy fiasco threw everythin' outta sync. Prob'ly took 'em this long jus' ta gather back together after tha' shit."

His tail lashed uncomfortably. A pack that had been leaderless for so long, had been left desolate for so long, was bound to be unstable, but desperate for a strong Leader to protect them, now that their previous Leader was unable.

All of a sudden it connected in Ichigo's mind, and the Old Man murmured his agreement as the King stepped forward, his teeth bare. "You're talking about the Espada! You want me to Lead the Espada! Are you out of your MIND!? Half of them tried to kill me and the other half don't know me!"

Shiro laid his hand on Ichigo's shoulder. "King. S'diff'rent now. Yer one of 'em. Stronger than 'em, too. An'... ya don' know what th'Quincy did ta 'em. They need a Leader. If they object, ya can more'n put 'em in their places."

Gin put his hands up, baring throat and stepping back, deferring to the stronger Hollow. "Yer Inner Beastie's right, y'know. We ain't th'same as we was. Ya ain't th'same. S'all diff'rent now. An' I dunno if ya've look't at yerself lately, but yer th'Primera 'round here."

Ichigo pressed his dominance a step more, bringing his tail around to threaten with it, "Fine. But they come to me. I won't live in Aizen's rubble."

"We can't fit nine in this den," Shiro pointed out reasonably. "Nine more, I mean. We'll hafta travel t'find a suitable spot. But s'better ta make 'em come ta you, yer right there. They want ya ta lead, they gotta defer ta ya right off the bat." He peered at Gin out of the corner of their eye. "You'll hafta fetch 'em, y'know."

Ichigo growled deeply, standing at the full extension of his height, and glaring down his nose at the former Shinigami. But when he spoke, it was in answer to them both. "They will find dens here and expand the territory or they will die and become fodder for my Pack. This is my den. You and yours wish to be a part of my Pack, you will join me in my territory. I am done playing Shinigami games of hide and seek. I am here."

Laced in the billowing flames of his reiatsu was the message that he would continue to be there until someone removed him. By force. And of course, in the language of Hollows, that meant until he was dead and consumed. He was King, and he would have his throne.

Gin didn't even wait around to answer, scampering off over the dunes with a release of Shinso into a feral fox form. Compared to Ichigo he was tiny, but the size of his reiatsu made him larger than most Great Danes. The smallness kept him fast, and before long he was gone, disappeared into the horizon towards the ruins of Los Noches. Presumably to deliver Ichigo's demands to the rest of the Pack.

Shiro tried to blink the stars from his eyes and failed, instead just fanning himself in the privacy of their Inner World. "Of course, King. They'll fall in line under yer claws soon 'nough. They can't chance goin' much longer wit'out a Leader."

He tried to push down the rusty purring sound he was making, without success, and gave up to just sit back and watch the clouds swirl by, warm in the pit of his stomach in a way that existed both beside and separate from the hunger. It almost quashed the hunger, in a way. He wasn't sure what it was, exactly, only that it felt very good, and he purred louder at his King. It was so nice to see his King hold his ground.

And, in a corner of his own mind, it made him so  _ proud _ . His King liked the den he had worked so hard to make, so much that he had steadfastly refused to abandon it even when provided a perfectly valid reason to do so. It made him squirm happily and the warm feeling grow. He had done well, and his King was impressed.

The great drake waited until he could no longer sense Gin in the distance, then he grabbed the carcass and turned to descend into the den itself. Once inside he tore into it with abandon, consuming the gift down to the very marrow of its bones. He felt the power of its reiatsu settle into his own like the warmth of good hot chocolate on a cold winter's day.

Shiro lazily stretched, still purring, and curiously touched on Ichigo's mental shoulder again. "King? Are ya gonna keep this form, or take our Vasto Lorde one? This one's convenient an' all, but tomorrow yer gonna wanna make an impression. Even I'm not sure which'a th'former Espada survived. B'sides Grimmjow, I mean. An' we gotta check on 'im too, when are we gonna do that?"

"He, like all the others, will come to me, or not at all." There was a certain resignation behind his words, and Ichigo curled up on the divot that Shiro had carved for their bed. "We have six days to establish a Pack boundary around our territory, or we risk losing it when we go get Mom. We don't have time to go chasing after people that haven't tried to come after us." He sighed a little, tucking his chin between his hands, "I was asleep, Shii, not gone. I heard who we interacted with. And who we didn't."

He was quiet, even as he laid himself next to Ichigo- mirroring him in the Inner World to mimic curling around him on the outside. "I s'pose he knows I ain't you. I ain't who he wants; an' he's clearly staked out yer old territory hopin' you'll come back an' give 'im what he wants. Yer th'one he wants t'fight an' court, King, not me. S'only natural he'd ignore me, waitin' fer you t'come back."

"We'll see. For now sleep. We'll take turns until we learn how to separate. And I'll choose a form tomorrow when I know who I'm facing." Ichigo felt a smile tug at his mouth, "After all, convincing Starrk will be vastly different from intimidating Nnoitra."

He perked. "Ooooh, ohh, c'n I do Nnoitra?! I wanna threaten ta EAT him if he steps outta line an' makes trouble in th'Pack!"

His tail would have wagged if he still had it in the Inner World with excitement just at the idea. Nnoitra had always gotten on his nerves- attempting to steal his victory, his prey, AND interrupting his fight all in one blow? Oh, no, he had never forgiven him for that.

"No. If I am to be Primera, he will answer to me, or I will eat him. You know that as well as I do, Shii. They have to bow to you because you are mine, but bowing to something of mine without submitting to me is a mistake I won't make again."

Their reiatsu billowed out to the edges of their territory like a slow wave, submerging the whole section of sand and trees with an oppressive weight. Anything that tried to enter while Ichigo was on guard, would immediately be weighed down, halted in their tracks like a stone in gelatin.

"Now sleep, Shii. You're wasting time."

He laid his head on his hands. "Yes, King." 

Admittedly, he  _ was _ tired… it had been a long time since he let himself close his eyes. Shiro curled up beneath a sky only lightly studded with clouds, content in a sunspot, and dropped into deep sleep. Ichigo would wake him when his turn came.


	4. The Word You're Looking for is Beta

Come "morning", Shiro perked at the slinking feel of familiar reiatsu. POWERFUL reiatsu.

"King," he called. "Th'former Primera approaches. Would pay to be fully on guard, both'a us." 

While their power outmatched his, now, and it was  _ unlikely _ he would hold a grudge about taking his spot, it was a definite possibility, and it was better safe than sorry.

The power stopped on the edge of their territory, and the scent of freshly-dead Hollow wafted on the wind when something thumped to the sand. Starrk settled down on his rock to wait, eyes half-lidded, but on full alert. He'd been on full alert since the fall of Aizen-- he was so,  _ so _ tired… he'd be happy to quietly be absorbed into this Pack and do as told, if only he could get some sleep for a change. And, of course, Lily was safe, but then, nobody could accept him into a Pack without bringing Lily with.

Like the gentle lapping waves of a crystalline lake, Ichigo's reiatsu ebbed and flowed at the boundaries of their territory. A wind tugged at the sand and Starrk's hair with an answering scent, declaring beyond a shadow of a doubt that the den was well-established. And sedately, in the Arrancar shape he'd taken to speak with Rangiku, the new Primera emerged. His hand rested on the hilt of the tanto, and he gave a small nod accompanied by a blink. He knew Starrk was no threat, but he also did not submit.

"Shunsui speaks highly of you, but his recollection does not do you justice, Coyote." His tone was conversational.

Starrk cast his mind back- ah yes, the one with two swords and the hidden strength… much like his own.

"I would speak highly of him as well, though I'm sure my recollection is as flawed," he replied, his tone just as light and easy. His own nod and blink, because they had not yet established Lily's safety, followed immediately so as not to slight the stronger between them.

"It's almost a pity we couldn't cross blades in the war. I would have enjoyed it, I think." Ichigo stepped lightly around the kill, casting an appraising eye over it as he went.

It was big, elk or moose perhaps? Gin must have passed on his preference for Living World types. The red blood soothed some part of him that still balked at flesh that wasn't obviously an animal he knew. And it was also clearly non-sentient. Although not a requirement, he did prefer not to wonder about whether his prey knew what was going to happen to it beyond being killed. And no talking. The antlers would provide good tools too. Sturdy bones. Judging by the fur, he even considered skinning it.

All the while he nodded, it was the best kill he'd received, including those given to them while he was asleep. "I trust Gin passed on my message then?"

Starrk inclined his head, flashing a bit of throat. "Yes. As one of the least objectionable, as we never crossed swords in the war, I volunteered to come first. Your terms were very clear- are you willing to hear mine?"

For all that he trusted Gin's word, for all that he knew the Kurosaki he had once seen would never consider separating him from his other half, this was not the Kurosaki he had seen before. And etiquette demanded he make his counter now if he had one.

"Yes." Ichigo stepped forward, posturing a little in acceptance of the submission. He didn't need to press his advantage, but not responding was insulting.

"Lily, my other half. I need her safety assured within the bounds of the Pack- and that she will be welcomed anywhere and in any way I am. She is my only concern." 

And by ensuring the Leader promised safety inside the bounds of the pack meant if anyone IN the pack attempted to harm her, there would be punishment. Immediately.

The ginger Arrancar blinked. Several times. "That's it?" He looked around like there was some kind of trap involved, "All you're asking for is what's granted to you by virtue of being Pack?? Really?"

Starrk shrugged. "She contains less of my power- she is the "lesser half" if there is such a thing, and as such, she has been attacked many times. Some have sought me to regain that power by eliminating her, some have simply thought she made a better target and I would be weakened by her loss. I want the right to punish anyone, Pack or not, who would attempt to harm her. She is far more precious to me than anything else in these sands."

"Holy fucking shit, man. Of course!" All pretense of well-put-together Primera was lost in the sheer level of his disbelief. "I would tear someone--I HAVE torn someone to pieces for trying to attack Shiro. In fact it was multiple someones. No one harms a hair on his head without feeling my wrath! No one!" He was pacing, flickers of reiatsu causing eddies to form in the sand when he turned. "She would... it would be like..." He stopped dead center in front of Starrk, his right eye burning blue with resolve, "You do know what I did to Ywach when he tried to steal my inner selves, don't you?"

Starrk shivered a little. "Yes. And served him right."

"So I hope you don't take offense when I ask, are you out of your cotton-pickin' mind!? Would she be protected?! She's part of you. You're part of her. You won't find a Pack Leader anywhere that knows that better than I do."

Finally, a real smile curled the wolf's mouth. "I know. It's a large part of why I'd rather join your Pack as subordinate than strike out for other territory and found my own. The more pairs of eyes looking out for my Lily, the better, and in any other pack I could not be certain I could trust the others in it. Under your leadership, however, I can trust not only you but the other Pack members."

Ichigo answered that with a smile of his own. "Agreed."

He closed the distance between them and circled around behind the wolf, his eyes on the horizon. Then he turned and rubbed his chin over Starrk's shoulder, scenting him. They could work out the particulars of how to demonstrate they were Pack later. For now, something else pressed on the Leader's mind. Something that made him knock Starrk to his rump and flop on his lap with a huff.

"Good. Now that you're mine, I want to know something."

Starrk blinked at him several times, rubbing his chin in Ichigo's hair and feeling comforted by how their scents were already starting to mingle. "Yes? What can I do for you?"

"How did you do it? Become you and Lily?"

He rubbed his chin, regardless of the fact that there was a pack leader there. "Well, I… I shrunk. And split. It was, uh. Actually come to think of it, my memories of the actual split are rather… hazy. It hurt, I remember that. It hurt a lot. But I  _ wanted _ … I wanted to be smaller. I wanted to be less alone. So I… shrunk, I guess."

Ichigo sighed, scowling at the sand beneath them. "That's all you remember? Just... wanting it? And it happened?"

"Well… it wasn't just wanting it. I wanted something no Hollow is ever supposed to want… I wanted to be… weaker," he admitted, quietly. "And it was like, there was an option there… I could be more than one alone, but my power would have to split. I would have to weaken. And that was okay-- because I  _ wanted _ to be more in number so badly, the loss in power was worth it. There might have been a pushing, but mostly I remember the sensation of tearing apart, some power siphoning away from me, tearing away violently, painfully. I blacked out… and when I woke up, Lily was there."

"Hmmm." That definitely wasn't what they wanted. Ichigo wanted his other half to be his own Hollow, but not at the cost of their power. He inhaled deeply, trying to pick it apart. "Has there been anyone else that's done something similar?"

Starrk shook his head. "Not that I have ever met. As far as Lily and I can tell, her body is made up of that reshi I siphoned off. Her power, all of it, returns to me when we come together as one again in my released form, and leaves again when I split from her again."

"Shunsui mentioned something about your mask breaking at that point? That you were Arrancar before Aizen showed up?" This time the gold of his left eye peered up at him, betraying the internal listener.

The wolf’s hand pressed to the remnants, involuntarily. "That is probably what the pain was, mostly. I do know it was broken then, and wasn't before the split. Possibly as a direct result of the split, or perhaps I was only able to split because of it, and I am honestly not sure which.”

Ichigo growled softly in frustration, leaning more heavily into Starrk's chest so he knew it was an internal displeasure and not anything the wolf had done or said. He wanted to be able to send Shiro out on his own, to scout if nothing else, but if their only option was breaking their mask... he didn't think it was something he  _ could _ even do, let alone whether he wanted to. From what he understood of Shinji's teachings, Visored were already Arrancar; Ichigo and Shiro more than the rest due to their ability to communicate. So the Pack Leader curled up on Starrk, glaring out at the distant sands, thinking.

Starrk stroked his hand up and down Ichigo's back, partly to mingle scents and much more to social bond and offer comfort. After several long, quiet moments, he offered his own thoughts.

"It sounds like you're looking to do the same as I did, leader? Have you tried… just creating a body out of reishi and bonding it to you by transferring whoever you want in it to it?"

"Not without the help of outside tools. But I'm also not looking for a permanent split."

Rolling over, Ichigo didn't bare throat exactly, but he did stretch out further, allowing for more contact. He hadn't realized how touch-starved he was until Starrk started petting him.

Starrk visibly relaxed more too, shoulders dropping and now petting with both hands. "It wouldn't be permanent, I think… if you used reishi already available..."

He looked thoughtfully at the kill he'd brought, all that ready-to-process reishi. It was even already in a physical form… it would just have to be altered. But how? Reshi wasn't like wet sand, or like clay- how on earth could one shape it?

"That is food. I doubt very much Shii would like to be food." The redhead did laugh though, "But it is an idea."

Starrk chuckled as well, and leaned down to rub his cheek in Ichigo's hair again. "But I can't figure out how you could tailor a body that already exists. Even if you overrode the consciousnesses in it, how could you make it shift shape? But it's an idea."

"Blrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Too much thinking for the level of comfortable I am right now." Ichigo stretched, internally prodding both swords to put their heads together and think of something. Meanwhile he rolled to his feet and shook off, settling spines and fur that weren't visible at the moment. "We should get you a den, and there's a persistent--erm… I don’t know what the word is... to the South that needs a good running out. They've been trying to push back my border for months now. I'm sick of it."

The wolf shook himself as well, a ruff that wasn't there settling as he stretched once he was on his feet. "I’ll call for Lily, and I'll be happy to run them out." 

Putting his forefinger and thumb in the corners of his mouth, he whistled, high and long. Within a few seconds a dust cloud was kicked up, and Lily came bounding over the dunes to skid to a stop just on the edge of the territory, pausing to pay respect to Ichigo before jumping over to Starrk's shoulder.

"So things went well? Great! I always knew we'd like you!"

The Leader laughed, teeth already sharper than they had been. "I hope you both don't mind, but this form gets cramped and restrictive after a while."

The edges of his shape blurred as he stepped several paces off from his new packmates. He shimmered and shook off again, sand blowing about with the unfurling of his reiatsu. In the light of the moon his silhouette was visible, growing and changing. He fell forward onto his hands with an echoed thud that shook the ground nearby, and his tail lashed out of the cloud in white and red. He reared his head back, and back, and back as his neck stretched and at the end of it he snapped his jaws tight in a long, vicious muzzle. His horns guarded his cheeks as the dust cleared, his red mane the color of blood rather than copper.

Finished, and returned to the shape they'd been using all this time, he grinned at Starrk and Lily all the way down there.

Starrk grinned, taking hold of Lily's hand. "Handsome, indeed! What d'you say, Lily, should we show off?"

She laughed and smacked his rear, laughing harder when he yelped surprise. "If it'll get you off your lazy ass, why not?"

With an indignant noise, the two swirled into formless shapes of white light. Unlike Ichigo's transformation, theirs happened all at once- when the two shapes solidified into one, it expanded, until a large wolf coming up nearly to Ichigo's shoulder stood there instead, fur the same brown of Starrk's hair. The necklace of his mask was a collar now, thicker, the teeth large and sharp where they guarded his soft throat.

The wolf lowered himself on his belly, twisting to show both throat and flash the whites of his eyes, before standing and shaking off the sand.

Ichigo laughed and bent down to lick the top of Starrk's head, brushing the fur backwards just to hear Lily complain. It was good to have a Pack again. Better even, because he knew instinctively that this time his packmates would understand.

Starrk gave a happy rumble that wasn't quite a bark, and his tail started wagging a mile a minute, blowing up a small sandstorm behind them. "You said to the South? I can scent a Menos there, too bold by far."

His mouth didn't move, it wasn't made for speech, but the way he licked his lips conveyed his eagerness.

“Menos? They didn’t seem that big last time I checked.” The drake looked confused.

Blinking, the wolf shook his head, “You’re thinking of Menos Grande. This is just a Menos. Eh, a step between Adjuchas and Vasto Lorde.”

“Ohhh.”

“But still far too bold, eh,  _ jefe?” _

"Agreed." Ducking his head and baring his teeth, a rumble of the same rage that destroyed Grand Fisher vibrated through Ichigo's reiatsu, "I want their mask!"

"Of course," Starrk nearly purred, flexing his claws in the sand. But he couldn't take point- that was not his role in this Pack. Unless… "Is this my task alone, or did you wish to hunt them together?"

"Bring the kill for storage, then meet me at the log on the southern border. I intend to make an example of them."

The tone Ichigo used wasn't quite what was whispered in the ruins of Las Noches, but it was close, bringing chills down the wolf's spine. He glanced at him to ensure he'd been understood, then gave a nod, and took off for the border. 

Partly he was testing his new packmate, both on following orders, and on sorting out his territory. The storage pits, dug deep under his den where the ground was practically frigid, weren't obvious. He covered the scent of his cache well. So if Starrk could find it and properly hide the kill he'd brought, it meant he could be Segunda without challenging for it. Because the Segunda needed to be able to make decisions should the Primera be incapacitated, as Mila Rose had when the Quincy captured Halibel.

Starrk took the kill in his teeth, dragging it toward the den proper. Logically, this should be relatively simple. Ichigo was a dragon, and reptiles usually went underground with their dens. It was a smart way to go about it, hiding everything under the surface and enabling them to not only hide, but store things and escape in the event of attack. If he was better at burrowing, it might have been his preference too.

As it was, once he'd reached the den, it did take some hunting to find it. Scent was useless to him in here, everything smelled strongly of Ichigo. He left the kill temporarily while he searched, mostly looking  _ downward _ . It got colder the deeper he went, and storage was probably best in the coolest areas. It would keep longer there… ahah! Satisfied with his find of pits with a few corpses already in them, he trotted back to the entry and dragged the kill into storage, dropping it because he wasn't sure he could easily get back out if he jumped in.

On his way out, he rubbed cheeks and chin and shoulders on doorways, entries, and on either side of the entry to the den itself, though he didn't touch the wall of masks. He spread the mingled pack-scent everywhere, advertising there was a newcomer in the Pack and eager to be accepted as fast as possible.

Then he broke into a run to meet Ichigo out at the log on the Southern border, following the freshest scent of territorial Menos. They must have renewed the challenge just in the time between Ichigo meeting him and the two of them heading for the border, and Starrk shook his head at the foolishness.

The Pack Leader was atop the log, all four feet balanced under him and his tail lashed in the manner of felines. He glared, head tilted just to one side, growling and baring his teeth. The Menos was just over the crest of the hill, not daring to come closer now that their rival was waiting for them.

Starrk slowed to a trot as he came into view, and stopped with his front paws up on the log itself, tongue hanging out as he panted. "Kill stashed, and I am here as fast as I could. I smell the Menos, foolish thing that it is."

"Catch your breath. I don't want to leave you behind when we drag it to the edge of its territory to kill it!" Ichigo growled louder, practically roaring his challenge to the interloper.

He did that, panting for a minute or two before his breathing evened out and with a lick of his lips he returned to normal, shaking himself all over and looking to his leader for direction. Whatever hunting method Ichigo liked, he'd be happy to help.

"Flank the bitch, drive them into my jaws!!" The drake roared, leaping from the log to land with a spray of sand.

The Menos, some bloated twisted imitation of a hyena with an iguana's tail turned and ran, predictably away from the sleeker predator. To add insult to injury, they squealed like a pig, terror making them regret every opportunity they'd taken to press against Ichigo's territory. Only a handful of steps in and it was obvious why they'd wanted it, their own was a shambles of broken rocks and a poorly woven nest. As he chased it, the King and his Horse agreed they were obviously doing it a favor, putting it out of its misery.

Starrk, well-trained hunter that he was, and a cooperative hunter too, poured his speed into coming up on the beast’s left flank, snapping at their legs and snarling whenever it tried to veer off course. Another snap, another lunge, and they stumbled a bit, though terror made it scramble back up into a dead run before Ichigo could catch up. But the loss of speed was enough; Starrk dropped back, letting Ichigo once again take precedence in their mind, and he swung around wide.

With the loss, he could run fast enough to run out of sight around to burst over a ridge in front of the Menos, ears laying flat to his skull at their distressed shrieking as it skidded and slid on the sand, trying--and failing--to drift into a turn, and losing more speed than they could afford to lose.

Ichigo seemed to appear out of nowhere, talons gleaming in the moonlight, and broke the thing's back with his landing. He pinned it against a petrified tree, hissing in its ear, "Let this be a lesson for your next reincarnation."

It screamed, it tried to flail limbs that no longer listened to its mind, and the drake hooked his fangs under the edge of the beast's mask. In a single yank, it tore free, and its death throes echoed all the way to Menos Forest and back. They had challenged the King of the Sands, and lost. Brutally.


	5. Segunda

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry it's taken me so long to update. OTL Life has a way of stealing me away and taking all of my energy.... I'm hoping to update a little more frequently now.

Starrk trotted up to watch them die, licking a forepaw as it bled to death. Then he cast his eye on the ruins that were its 'den'. "There was surely something usable here, before they threw a tantrum and destroyed everything it could. A suitable enough den could likely be made from what remains."

Clutching the fallen Menos’ mask in his talons, Ichigo glanced around, "Have you any objection to sleeping underground? I don't like the idea of any of my Pack being exposed to threats and weather."

"I have no objection, but I am a poor digger," he admitted, ears flattening again. "Tunnelling is not my specialty and large holes usually collapse on me. I could use this refuse to make a false den, however, and use another portion for a surface entry to the main den."

"Leave the digging to us. I like the idea of the false entrance though. See what you can do about that while Shiro and I handle connecting your den to ours." There was a familiar duplication on the plural pronouns, and a rakish quality to the drake's grin that didn't belong to Ichigo alone.

He moved off in the direction that they'd come, carrying the mask in his teeth. It was closer than he'd realized before now, and a shudder of revulsion ran down his spine all the way to the tip of his tail. He should have taken care of that pesky Menos  _ years _ ago.

Shiro broke off from planning where to make the connecting tunnel at that thought, and gave an annoyed grunt. "Wit'out somebody else t'hunt with me, I couldn't catch 'em. S'what made 'em so bold as to move the border in further, I literally couldn't catch tha' fuckin' bitch. Bu' wit' Starrk flankin, they ran right inta our teeth! Fuck, King, tha' was  _ so satisfyin' _ . Starrk's good pack."

"I know, Shii. He's like us."

Ichigo sniffed at the sand, and decided on the root end of the log. He hadn't sprayed there quite as much, and it was still half-buried. It would provide good cover for the entrance.

Digging came easy to him, and he was half his body length down before he realized he'd sort of brushed off his twin. "Not being able to hunt upstarts like that is why I want to try and get you a body of your own. We're powerful enough that we shouldn't have to rely on anybody else to take them down."

Shiro was thoughtful when he answered. "I'd like a body o' m'own, King. I jus' don' wanna be weakened by it. We've worked so hard, for so fuckin' long, t'lose any o' what we've earned seems repulsive by now."

"I know. I agree. And even more if we're going to gather the Espada as Pack, we can't afford to lose power. Not by much. Starrk might be content to follow, but others will not." Ichigo continued digging, pushing the sand into solid walls and using what was underneath to solidify the dryer surface.

Shiro frowned, watching the walls take shape around the tunnel, tall enough to walk in. "King… remember how I used t'say I was Zangetsu? Well… can't shinigami an' even Vizoreds materialize their sword spirits? Mebbe if we could do that… jus' with me...?"

"It's possible, I guess. But like I told Starrk," Ichigo put both hands on the wall and pushed, shoving a glass boulder into place to allow moonlight inside, "I've never done that. Not without one of Yoruichi's tools, or that time at the Great Forge with what's-his-face when I forged your tanto. According to Shinigami shit it takes a hundred years for your zanpakuto to manifest like that. Which, I'm just saying, makes Renji old as fuck, by the way."

The internal twin laughed, he cackled really, as he was prone to doing. "King! King, when the FUCK have you ever held yerself t'the standard timeline o' shinigami?! Get one'a th'Pack what knows how, when we go back fer Mother, an' M'sure you'll pick it up fast."

There was weight in his silence as Ichigo made the tunnel turn, bending around itself to carve out an actual room now that he was below the level of sand that crumbled without significant pressure. He rolled their body, with its full weight, against the walls, smoothing out the stone with his reiatsu, and infusing tiny particles to glow. To allow their Segunda privacy, he never stood entirely. The room was wolf-sized, not drake-sized. And as he tucked back out to the tunnel again, he deliberately built up the sides of the doorway so that he would have to shrink down to fit even if he wanted to enter Starrk's den.

It wasn't until he had carved his way entirely back around to their public room that he spoke again, the weather of his mindscape contemplative and a touch melancholy. "I'm not a Shinigami, Shii."

Shiro shook himself, in the privacy of the inner world, mimicking Ichigo's rolling to make Starrk's den. He stretched out, and admittedly he approved Ichigo giving Starrk his privacy. Even within a pack, everyone needed a space that belonged to them.

"I know, King. But ya got their abilities, all of 'em. Anything they can do, you can do-- better." 

"Which means there should be a way to give you a shape outside of me without having to maintain a manifestation of you that may or may not be viable to exist without my control. I don't know. I'm still working on it." The King flopped over on the bundle of furs that lined the depression in the center of the room, rolled up onto his back and stretched all four limbs up in the air to scratch his back.

"I know. I think ya'll get it, sooner rather than later knowin' you." Shiro stretched out in their mindscape, then yawned. "Starrk prob'ly ain't done makin' the false den, but then I dunno how good a den-maker he is. Wanna check on 'im anyway?"

"Yeah... we probably should." Ichigo kicked up and gave a shake to settle his spines in place again, then took the new tunnel to the surface. "We need to scentmark the new border anyway."

"Point. Good thinkin', King."

On the surface, Starrk was finishing with his fake den. It looked actually fairly good; he'd puzzle-stacked the rubble into a fairly sturdy back wall, fused together with a bit of reiatsu to melt it, and used the ruined weavings of what had been a nest to make the walls. Melting them into place had removed much of the smell, though he'd had to spray all three walls twice just to override the Menos’ scent so it didn't smell like they were Pack. Now, he was adding additional scraps and bits inside and rolling in them to make it look, and smell, like a den of his. Some concentrated digging in typical dog-style had made a shallow depression inside the "entrance", just comfortable enough for one or two, and this he put concentrated scent down on, though he couldn't spray in here. Nobody would believe such a clean creature would do that INSIDE their own den.

Ichigo circled the walls, rubbing his side along the back and his chin over the edges of the "entrance" just to reinforce the Pack scent. "Looks good."

Starrk finished rolling and scrambled to his feet to trot over and rub himself against Ichigo. "Thank you. I knew it wouldn't fool anyone if I didn't actually build it like a den I would live in. I actually wonder if we couldn't use it to scout from, when the Pack is bigger. But that's later."

"Maybe, but I tend not to hunt close to my den. Prey-scent is not something I want to advertise." Lifting his nose, the drake caught the dead Menos’ scent, just enough to follow so he could find the other borders. "Do you and Lily have a preference for following us or walking double around the new border? I'm probably going to follow it all the way back around to the front where we met you again. Just to double check things."

He rolled one shoulder. "I'll come with. Then it'll be pack-scent on the border. I've found that warns those who would encroach away better than one scent alone."

"Agreed. And maybe on our way, you could tell me some of why the Espada are still without a Leader, in spite of both you and Ulquiorra still being capable." Ichigo arched an eyeridge. 

He had suspicions about Starrk, what with being so much more interested in following than leading, but he'd crossed blades with Ulquiorra. From his memory there was no reason why he  _ shouldn't _ be able to step up.

The wolf scratched the side of his neck with a hind foot then trotted to catch up. "Ulquiorra's an Alpha. He can't lead the Pack. As for me, well… you can't lead a pack when you want to attack some of the members in it. Every time someone looked at Lily wrong, it took Hallibel to hold me back-- until Hallibel was taken out of commission. Since then we've been at a loss, trying to keep to her rules and hoping she'd heal enough to take up the role as Leader again."

Ichigo stopped, blinked several times, and used a tree to stall for his confusion. "Okay, Shii doesn't know either. What's an Alpha?"

"Defender, fighter, sire reproductively speaking. Opposite of Beta. Um, what the Menos was? Alpha is what you and I are not. And, power-wise, Alphas are weaker. They do not need to carry offspring, so they don't need the extra power to protect themselves or nourish life, and they usually don't have regenerative healing, like we do."

Internally there was a moment of panic over the whole reproductive thing, but being aware that this was an important conversation, Ichigo redirected that energy into scratching up and then flipping a boulder that had been inscribed with the other Hollow's mark. "But... Ulquiorra has regeneration capabilities almost faster than mine."

Starrk chuckled, kicking up a bit more sand over the boulder to scrub away the smell of the former occupant. "I said usually. Some Alphas have it anyway, and Ulquiorra is one of them. Some Betas do not have it-- but those rarely survive many mating seasons without it, unless they choose their mates very, very carefully. Any offspring that might hatch internally and tear its way out would kill such a Beta."

That time Ichigo couldn't help the squeak, trying miserably to cover it up with a cough and an enthusiastic pounce on yet another inscribed symbol. He left it decimated and drew his own with all ten talons infused with reiatsu.

"I see. Though I don't quite understand why an Alpha can't lead a pack, except that obviously there needs to be someone with enough power to control unruly members should something go wrong, and if--what was it? Beta?--if Betas are more powerful, then it makes sense logically that one would be at least an enforcer if not the Leader. The way you said it though, makes it sound like... I dunno, like Ulquiorra wouldn't be able to do it. Like even if you and Hallibel were willing to let him Lead, he couldn't."

Ichigo sat atop the next boulder, his paws in a line and his head tilted in a very feline fashion-- for all that he was obviously draconic.

"Even though he is powerful, controlled, and willing to Lead if asked, ultimately... the Pack would not obey an Alpha, no matter how powerful, and no matter if they are backed by one or more Betas. Alphas are for guarding the territory, bringing back prey, and protecting Betas during the breeding season and when carrying offspring. They often have a sharper sense of smell… and can react to hormones much more strongly. Worse, they can easily be led astray by their noses, and unless there WERE no others, it's unlikely a Pack would trust the decisions of an Alpha as a Leader."

The wolf paused, finding another boulder and scratching it up with relish.

"Not to say a small or inexperienced Pack might never have an Alpha Leader, especially if that Alpha was charismatic, powerful, and made good decisions. But a Pack with so many Betas as the Espada… no, the Betas wouldn't trust an Alpha, not even one as level-headed as Ulquiorra, to Lead them."

He paused in his scratching then, a bit sheepishly because he'd almost missed the point. 

"Mostly because he's found a Mate of his own and taken up with her in the human world. He's not free to Lead the Espada-- he lives beneath her thumb, as can be expected of an Alpha with the Beta who chose him."

"IS THAT WHAT INOUE WAS HIDING!?" The Leader nearly fell off of his rock, scrabbling with his talons to maintain his purchase. "I knew she'd been doing  _ something _ sketchy when she stopped letting Rukia and Rangiku spend the night years ago, but... well fuck." He frowned at the stone, "That alters my numbers a little. How many of the Espada are left now then? If Ulquiorra is denning with Inoue, and Hat-N-Clogs has Grimmjow on a leash... I know three or four of y--them died in the War, and Mayuri never did get his claws into them, for which, believe me, we're all grateful. It was bad enough seeing Dordoni under his puppet strings, I think I'd probably have lost my head if I'd recognized anyone else."

Starrk outright shuddered. "No, no… I think we would all have rather killed ourselves than let him get us. Szayel told us… no, we would never let him take us alive. Never. But remaining in the Espada, not counting me since I am formally in your pack now, there are 13 remaining, and Grimmjow and Ulquiorra are in the human world."

Ichigo took a breath, looking around the area as far as he could see, "We're gonna need a bigger den... Any idea how many of them are willing to submit to me?"

Starrk blinked at him for almost twenty seconds before seeming to realize the question was serious. "I-- all of them. They have no Leader, you are a Beta, and you are the Primera, backed by the former Primera. They wish to survive. All of them will come, though some will make you prove you can make them submit before they do it freely."

The drake looked thoughtful. He glanced away, then back again, and his tail curled closer to his hip, "All? Of them?"

Memories, faded as they were with time, came back to him about the last time he saw Grimmjow face to face. And what he'd done. He wasn't proud of it. He'd copied their slavedriver almost to the absolute word choice, and he doubted highly that the Sexta would want anything to do with him.

"Grimmjow wants to pile-drive you into the sand, Ichigo," Starrk deadpanned. "As do most Alphas who have had their asses kicked all across Hueco Mundo by a Beta. He is not above his instincts, and if you and he are on rocky terms, he would not be unwilling to overcome them, to my knowledge. Even Ulquiorra will submit to you, despite actually living with Orihime."

"How did you...?" The blush that lit up Ichigo's face was bluish, and dusky, more like Shiro than his human self, and the tail curled all the way around as though to hide his groin from view. Then he coughed, looking out at the horizon, "We didn't meet under the best circumstances, and the last time I talked to him, he didn't get the chance to say much. So... I think I'm allowed to be slightly nervous about it."

Starrk laughed, not meanly, but he did laugh at the cute, shy blush. 

"You weren't aware? Whenever Grimmjow crosses your mind, you immediately smell of wanting and lust. It's not hard to tell. And naturally you've got every right to be nervous, I mean, you'll probably have to beat him into the ground before you let him get close to you again. He'll have to prove his strength to you again, especially now that you've grown in power. But he's an Alpha. They're much better at thinking with their groins than anything else, and there's very, very little they wouldn't forgive their Beta."

Ichigo coughed again. "Yes. Well. Ehem. Territory, border, all that. Yes. MOVING ON!!"

The last bit was very obviously directed internally, for all that he said it out loud, and he hopped off the rock with a sniff. Walking was even more difficult though as his tail tried to stay tucked up between his legs. Not that it managed it very well, since reptilian tails were not exactly made for tucking like feline tails, and it gave him a bow-legged gait that he was resolutely ignoring as they made their way back towards where Starrk had first appeared.

And coincidentally, towards the ruins of Las Noches.

Starrk chuckled but tactfully chose not to comment, helping mark the border with pack-scent, and keeping his ears perked. He wouldn't put it past Nnoitra to try and take them off guard, just to see if they were worthy. He supposed Nnoitra never approved of Starrk's willingness to follow a strong Leader, but then, Nnoitra didn't have the same aching loneliness Starrk did. It made him… perhaps... a little more willing to beat the shit out of the mantis if he ventured this way without an appropriate gift or offer.

The desert sounds changed as they crested the last rise before what Ichigo considered his 'front door'. The ambient critters were dead silent, the shift of sand almost nonexistent.

Ichigo stopped, his lip pulling up from his fangs, and he dropped into a wary crouch, scanning the dunes. "I know you're here." He growled, stalking down the rise, "I can smell your stench from here. Show yourself!" His steps slowed, coiling his muscles, "And I may not take your mask for my collection..."


	6. Team Building Exercises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ichigo laughed, "You think you'll even have a chance with me? I should BREAK you for what you did to my daughter."
> 
> "D-daughter!?" Now he was confused.
> 
> But far from explaining the dragon brought his teeth down around the edge of Nnoitra's eye socket with an ominous groaning.
> 
> "AHHH! AH AH AH AH!!! I GIT IT I GIT IT!! I'LL LEAVE'ER ALONE!! THE WOLF PUP TOO!! FUCK DON'T BREAK M'MASK!! PLEASE?!"

Shiro was growling, curling his claws, and keeping an extra eye and ear out for the intruder they knew was there even as King called them out. He didn't trust this asshole, he didn't trust him at all. He didn't even LIKE him! He wouldn't put it past the bastard to take them off-guard just to see if they'd survive such a sneak attack. If he COULD weaken them like he had Nel, surely he would try.

Starrk curled his lip and snarled, a low, continuous growling rising from his throat, but he let Ichigo handle this. Nnoitra would never submit properly or fully if Ichigo didn't show him that he, and he alone, was overwhelmingly the Primera.

"Didn't think I'd live ta see th'day Grimm's bitch came ta th'dark side." The mantis cackled from his hiding place, wherever it was. "But when th'dogshits came runnin' I had ta see it fer m'self!"

"I thought you were all about the fight, Nnoitra." Ichigo ducked his head, shoulders tense and tail curling from one side to the other in a slow warning.

The Quinta laughed loudly again. "Ya think ya got what it takes ta take me!? Not even Aizen could take me!"

"Kenpachi did."

The drake circled around a rock formation just at the very edge of his territory, and dropped his belly to the ground. Around them, his reiatsu was tucked in tight, like wings folded along his back. It still burned hot and bright, but to both Shiro, who knew him best, and Starrk, who'd witnessed it in battle, it wasn't nearly a third of the new Primera's reserves. Someone wise once said that dragons were winged cats. Never had it been more obvious than right then as Ichigo stalked the bug.

Nnoitra was his usual cocky self, laughing and taunting the memory of his fight with Kenpachi. He even went so far as to rip his shirt off to flaunt the scar the Shinigami gave him.

As soon as he did that though, Ichigo pounced!

"AHHH!!!" The scream was involuntary as the whole weight of the Primera's power landed on the mantis, jaws that could snap him in half a mere breath away from the bone of his mask.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't add you to my trophies!"

Starrk watched from atop the rock, impassive as he witnessed Nnoitra's fear and Ichigo's justice. He was a good Leader; he knew this was a test, and was giving the bug a fair chance. It was admittedly better than Starrk might have in the same position, but then, Starrk had once nearly killed Nnoitra for putting his hands on Lily. Meanwhile, internally, Lily herself was gloating very loudly about bugs who deserved to be squished under Ichigo's reiatsu. Starrk couldn't even scold her when he was taking his own pleasure in watching this.

Shiro purred, knowing the mantis was helpless in their claws, and licked his teeth as he peered through their eyes down at Nnoitra, savoring the taste of his fear. He should fear them! They were the Primera!

"I-I-I'm th'second strongest Alpha in th'Sands! Yer grubs'd be stronger'n Grimm's'n damn near 's strong 's Quiorra's!" Fuck the Berry bitch was fast!! Goddamn! Nnoitra couldn't do more than lay there, hands pinned near his face, and his head turned all the way to the right with those fuckin' deadly-ass fangs right over his blind eye!

Ichigo laughed, "You think you'll even have a _chance_ with me? I should BREAK you for what you did to my daughter."

"D-daughter!?" Now he was confused.

But far from explaining the dragon brought his teeth down around the edge of Nnoitra's eye socket with an ominous groaning.

"AHHH! AH AH AH AH!!! I GIT IT I GIT IT!! I'LL LEAVE'ER ALONE!! THE WOLF PUP TOO!! FUCK DON'T BREAK M'MASK!! PLEASE?!"

Starrk gave a pleased whuff noise and panted gently, his tail wagging happily as Lily crowed with pride. Word was bond, especially when you die for breaking it, and Starrk was happily satisfied with Nnoitra's capitulation.

Shiro meanwhile laughed. "Oooh, sounds like he finally figured out who’s boss. What'cha say, King? Lettim live?"

Ichigo didn't actually acknowledge anyone but Nnoitra; he knew instinctively that to do so would be to throw away all the progress he'd made so far. So instead, he wrenched his head in the other direction, forcing the Quinta to look up at him, eye-to-eye. Time seemed frozen for a few heartbeats. Neither moved, neither blinked. Then all at once, the Leader snapped his jaws over Nnoitra's good eye, cutting through his hierro like butter.

The wound split both his brow and his cheek in a burning, venom-filled, divot. He clutched his face, blinking furiously to clear his vision. Though he didn't scream exactly, it was clear he was biting his tongue. Especially as he didn't, couldn't, get up after Ichigo sat back.

"A reminder that I can, and _will_ , end you if you go back on your promise." The Pack Leader ran his tongue over his teeth and popped his jaw as though he was bored.

Starrk hopped down from the rock, but didn't actually approach yet. Not until Nnoitra agreed. Ichigo and Ichigo alone had to dominate him and secure his loyalty and understanding.

Shiro hummed, popping his own jaw and relishing the feel of their venom branding the mantis. That was their mark!

Almost inexplicably Nnoitra began to laugh. It was half-crazed, and obviously pain-filled, but it was a laugh nonetheless. "I al'ays liked ya, Berry--Leader," he corrected himself, with a small duck of his head, "y'know when ta hold back, an'... when ta leave yer mark on shit. Ya ain't never been a Shinigami. They ain't known when ta claim shit. Er how. But ya... ya do it jes' right."

He gave a cough, spitting blood that had dripped down his face onto the sand, and he grinned, laying on his back again.

"If it's all th'same... think I'll just lie here a bit. Woo... that's some heavy shit yer packin'..." He giggled again, head spinning.

Ichigo raised an eyeridge at him, then leaned over and licked a broad stripe up the center of his throat, accepting his submission for what it was. He might never actually say the words, but that was alright. They'd communicated. Nnoitra understood who he belonged to, and in understanding had fully pledged himself to Ichigo's Pack. Truth be told, the violence was something of a nice reminder after all of the vocalizing and language he'd been dealing with lately. Not that he blamed Starrk, but sometimes getting his teeth into something was just easier.

Starrk laughed, softly, letting his tongue hang from his mouth as he shook himself from head to toe and trotted up beside Ichigo. He was looking down his nose at Nnoitra, and he was wolf enough to admit it- not just because of their difference in power levels, but because it was satisfying in the extreme that Ichigo had extracted the very oath that no matter how many beatings, Starrk could not get Nnoitra to make. But then, he'd never wanted Nnoitra enough to mark him as his own. With a final sniff at one pointy shoe, he shook again and looked to his Leader.

"It is likely others will not be far behind. The rest should follow within a day or two."

"Good. The sooner this is done, the better. In six days I will need to be away for a time, and I want the territory well established before then." Ichigo turned his back on Nnoitra. "I expect you to find a den as soon as you can walk, Quinta. Starrk is to the South, pick any direction but in front of my door. I trust you'll be able to handle clearing out the space yourself."

The mantis gave a thumbs up, tittering on his high. He grinned at Starrk and made an obscene flick of his tongue, showing off his tattoo.

Starrk shifted his tongue to hang out the side of his mouth Nnoitra could see, unconcerned with being childish. Alpha or not, Starrk would not be fucking the Quinta, not even in the depths of Heat. He might try, but Starrk wouldn't be accepting.

Shiro hummed thoughtfully. "If th'rest are gonna show up t'day an' t'morrow… d'ya think we should go huntin', King? Would show us how Starrk handles shit while we're out; call't a dry run fer when we run on our errand in a week."

"Hmm." Ichigo stopped a few steps away from the other two, and tilted his head at them. "Starrk, help Nnoitra find and connect a den to ours. We'll be back in a candlemark."

No requests, just simply what was going to happen and what the Leader expected of his packmates while he was out of the picture. They would need to work together, in closer quarters than they had been. Because Ichigo was not Aizen. Ichigo was not Shinigami. And this wasn't a Shinigami division where everyone had their own homes at the end of the day and working together on things was just a job. No. This was Hollow Pack. They were expected to treat each other like family. Anyone who did not... well... There was a reason Ichigo's wall of trophies was entirely masks.

So he gave a flick of his tail tip, the not-so-subtle hint that as much as he liked them both... disobedience... betrayal... He was not above adding their masks to his collection.

Then he nodded once and trotted off towards the Menos Forest, nose high and tail lifted; clearly hunting.

Starrk looked at Nnoitra, sighed, and tilted his head. "You heard him. What direction do you want to make your den in? And… how well can you dig?"

He gave a slightly optimistic wag of his tail, because he was Segunda. Ichigo had told him to help Nnoitra, so, putting aside old grudges, that was what he would do. He might have to ask Ichigo's help digging the actual tunnel, since he was not good at that, but he'd try.

Nnoitra gave a groan as his response.

Approximately an hour later, Ichigo returned, carrying the carcass of a cervine Hollow. Its back was broken, and the blood drained mostly. He'd eaten a third of it. The rest he was bringing back for his Pack, with the deer's mask hung on his tail, the tip through an eyesocket the same way he had carried Grand Fisher's. It felt good to hunt, to be awake. This was what he should have been doing. Not trying to be human or Shinigami. And for the power of it, his hide shone with an internal glow. The moonlight made his edges shimmer from gold to blue.

He gave a small trot to cover the distance and sprang to the top of the rock formation that was the true entrance to his den, the one with the wide flat spot where Shiro had rubbed out the perfect divot for moon-bathing. He'd embed the mask in his wall later, but he dropped the carcass so that the broken neck made the deer's head loll over the edge of his perch. Then he laid down, front paws crossed at the wrist, and tail ticking slowly. He'd check on the inside of the den in a moment... if the other three didn't register he was there first.

It took only a moment before a long nose popped out of his entrance to the den, and Starrk popped his head out to look up. Confirming Ichigo was up there, he climbed out and shook off sand and a little reiatsu dust.

"I uh… I still am a very poor digger," he announced, "but Nnoitra chose a spot to the north-west and I have made… an attempt to tunnel. He digs better than I do and hasn't stopped gloating since we started."

Ichigo cracked his neck, and smiled in a very Shiro fashion. "I suppose I should show him how it's done then." He stood, stretched from talons to tail tip, and hopped down. "Eat something, you've been working since before you got here, and I know enough about you to know that this practically counts as a manic episode for you."

He stepped around the entrance, and Starrk, to get a little distance between himself and the Mask Wall. Then he eyed it, with one eye closed and his tongue poking out of his mouth. Aimed his tail. And FLUNG the mask at an open spot, reinforced with reiatsu to make it both stick and not shatter when it embedded in the sandstone.

"Twenty-nine." A sharp nod punctuated the statement, and he explained, "I liked his rack. So I'm going to keep it."

The wolf blinked a few times, then nodded. "It is a very nice rack," he confirmed, before tearing into the Hollow.

He wasn't really hungry, but Ichigo was right; it had been a long while, since it had taken him hours to hunt up just the kind of Hollow prey Ichigo preferred, and he hadn't eaten in some time. And when he stopped being "manic" or whatever that was, he would flop down and sleep for a week. Yes, best to eat now, while his share was still available. He finished his third, licking his lips, and picked up the remainder.

"He didn't bother making any part of his den above ground except for a hole he can climb out of, and that is covered with a hollowed rock. I have however tried to convince him to make a fake den above ground. It would be an excellent decoy."

"He doesn't have to but I will encourage him to spar around it. It would be more suspicious if all of our satellite dens had false entrances. Better to make," the next word was a hissed growl that didn’t translate into spoken language, "believe it to be a battleground than a den. I don't want to be predictable. And I refuse to mimic the Shinigami." There was a tone he carried on the last word that both divorced himself from them, and carried a touch of insult.

Starrk nodded, ducking his head slightly to his Leader's wisdom. He was right, that was a much better idea than multiple false dens. "How would it mimic the Shinigami, out of curiosity?"

"You've never been to Soul Society. Every division is set up in the same layout. Captain's quarters, officers’ quarters, barracks, training ground, mess hall... they all look the same. The hospital in the Fourth looks like the science labs of the Twelfth. Where the Sixth has a garden with a koi pond, the Thirteenth has a bigger koi pond with a small day house in the center. The Ninth's printing press is like the First's butterfly office. Over and over, they mirror each other to the point that a fifteen year old human child was able to successfully infiltrate and throw the whole system into chaos, allowing for the emergence of the greatest threat the Four Worlds have ever known." Ichigo gave a shake, settling his mane, "No, we won't follow in their mistakes."

Starrk's contempt was palpable. "A pup could figure out the layout well enough to pose a danger? Someone--anyone who had never set foot there before needed to explore only one place to infiltrate all the others?! I'm shocked they weren’t taken out years ago with such stupidity in their own dens of all places!"

He was bristling now, suddenly furious. Soul Society had kept all Hueco Mundo under their blades for years with their soldiers stationed in the human world, keeping them confined like animals when most would never want to leave in the first place, and knowing they were so _stupid_ only rubbed Starrk's nose in it. Aizen hadn't dominated Soul Society so easily because he was THAT superior in intelligence--he just had a little more intelligence than the average Vasto Lorde!

"Which is exactly why we're not doing it that way." The drake smiled again, with a touch of pride. "Keep a look out for the others, I do want them moved in sooner rather than later, but I'm going to go smooth out what I know Nnoitra made roughly. Hmph, bugs. Always with the ridges and the divots and the... what's wrong with walking on a smooth surface? I swear I have this conversation with every insect I meet..."

He trailed off, muttering half to Shiro as he disappeared into the den to check on the mantis.

Starrk placed Nnoitra's share of the kill inside the entry, so he didn't lose track of it, and trotted out near the border. He'd re-scent it and keep an eye out at the same time, and spend some time in his "den" scouting for approaching Espada. He was, after all, the second-in-command. And he couldn't sleep until the other Espada were Pack. He could sleep when the work was done and the den was safe.

Over the next few "days", though the moon never set and there was no sun to rise, most of the rest of what had been the Espada Pack trickled in; usually in twos and threes.

Szayel dug out the hard sedimentary rock below both Nnoitra and Ichigo's dens in a sprawling cavern network, wired and electrified using some kind of reiatsu converter that he'd invented when Aizen set up Las Noches. The tunnels were too deep for moonlight to access, but somehow he lit them up with glowing, multicolored disks that he melted into the walls and floors. He proved to be an even better digger than Ichigo and when asked his response was to merely look smug and proud. Shiro suggested it might have something to do with his type, though none of them could pinpoint exactly what that was.

He brought with him, his brother Yylforte and Tesla, who had gratefully accepted a secondary den behind Nnoitra's. They were followed by a sabre toothed tiger who called himself Ggio, and spent most of his time in the branches of the largest petrified tree in the expanded territory. Of course, when he wasn't up the tree, he conspired with the others to drive Ichigo up one. Among the three of them, and Nnoitra, the surface area between the West and South borders had never been so torn up. Twice Ichigo charged them all, just to get them to knock it off long enough for him to sleep.

And Gin appeared at one point, though no one could say exactly when. He was just there. With a fox-burrow dug out from the top of Ichigo's bookshelf to the base of Ggio's tree.

The Pack Leader currently was moonbathing, sprawled atop the central den in His Spot. The Furious Four were going at it again, making one ear twitch with the clashing of blades and claws, and laughter drifted over the wind such that he was reassured that Gin was watching them. It wasn't like they didn't have the space for it, since the eight of them had stretched their territory almost to the edge of the Menos Forest. But it was still Ichigo's responsibility to ensure that they didn't encroach too far into someone else's territory.

He just didn't want to deal with anyone else at the moment; his collection was happily stable at thirty-three.

A new but familiar sound came: the sound of sand shifting, and a loud 'thump'. And then an entirely new sound--strange, like shifting clothing, except it was rhythmic and very soft, until it stopped.

In the human world it had not gone unnoticed that lower-level, non-sentient Hollows were abruptly going to Hueco Mundo and never coming back. And it hadn't taken much subtle investigation to find out what, and whom, was hunting them or what else they were doing.

On the very border of Ichigo's territory nearest the Vasto Lorde Plains to the North, a massive mouse Hollow lay waiting and ready, blood staining the sands red and tail and paws curled up in the way of most hunted things that had not yet been eaten.

Ichigo was alert immediately, a pulse of his reiatsu getting everyone else's attention too, "Starrk, Ggio. Check it out."

Gin and Szayel ducked back into the den, both more useful with the element of surprise intact, and Nnoitra took Tesla and Yylforte in the opposite direction, just in case the offering was a diversion. Their Pack was big enough now to warrant that sort of attention, and the Leader had made it abundantly clear he did not want to be surprised by anything this desert had to throw at him.

Starrk approached with projected confidence, trotting almost right on the offering before starting to sniff around; Ggio would be taking a more stealthy route, while the wolf kept all attention on himself. The smell of the hunter was familiar, he realized… familiar and mixed with _human_.

It was unlikely this was a trip or a trick, but the power levels of this particular Arrancar was too high to take risks, and Starrk barked to let the rest of the Pack be alert: The Cuarta was near!

In his tree, perfectly camouflaged in black and white, two golden-green orbs blinked at the synchronization of the Pack, and noticing the feline approaching, he launched, drifting out of easy jumping range above the sands to keep an eye on as many of them at once as he could, but Ulquiorra said nothing.

"You come to my lands with tribute and you say nothing, Ulquiorra? When last we met, you had better manners." The drake hopped from his perch, eyes on the bat against the black sky.  "Even Nnoitra said hello in his own way."

He didn't use sonido, though it would have made the trip to the border faster. Instead, he swallowed the ground in an easy lope, unconcerned and showing off just a little. Ulquiorra was the strongest Alpha in the sands. Even if he was happily involved with Inoue, Hollows were a vastly polyamorous lot; something Ichigo had learned well even in the short time his Pack had been established. He was long, lean, and yet power coiled in the bunch and shift of his muscles. His territory was saturated with his reiatsu as much as the Pack-scent. And under the bright moonlight, the crimson markings stood out like blood painted on his hide.

He was stunning.

Ulquiorra smiled, an expression that for all it was unnatural to him, looked startlingly natural. He must have been practicing, or at least have had many reasons to smile.  He did drift, catching a slight breeze so he could watch Ichigo with undisguised appreciation. He was truly magnificent, and while here he was not out of reach of a Cero, he would be able to see, hear, and smell one charging and move.

"Nnoitra was not born without a mouth. I prefer to let my actions speak for me." Ulquiorra had always been the most cautious of the Espada. Even Hallibel could be provoked; Ulquiorra had always been firmly divorced from all emotional displays. "Your Pack is strong and grows fast and stronger. My greetings and apology for not greeting you sooner."

"I hear you've been busy." Ichigo brushed off the apology, strafing to keep a gold-rimmed eye on the Alpha above.

He used his momentum to run across an outcropping of rock, and jumped at the last second to sail above the sands with all four feet in the air at the same time. Still showing off slightly, the threat was just as obvious; he could snatch something out of the air like a cat if he had to. But that wasn't his energy. He found the mouse acceptable, or else he'd have been more vicious in his response.

"It's almost a pity I don't have anything to do with the Human World anymore."

"A bit. Orihime sometimes asks if you're doing well, but I may have finally trained her out of thinking of you strictly romantically," he replied casually. "Every time she mentioned you, I would distract her with those 'kisses' humans so enjoy. She chose me- reminding her of that has helped and now she only inquires as to your health once a month or so. If you hadn't abandoned the human world, it would never have worked."

He flew lower; yes, Ichigo could easily snap him out of the air, but he wasn't going to provoke him to doing so.

"Betas cannot mate Betas, and I fear playtime with her would encourage thoughts along those lines. So in the spirit of being honest," direct and to the point, and in language that betrayed just how not-human he had become, Ichigo redirected the conversation, "what exactly are you looking for here? My Pack does not extend beyond the Sands."

With that, he closed the gap between him and the two he'd sent before him. He met Starrk with a nose bump and let the wolf lick at his mouth and chin, and then Ggio with a head bump and a chin rub over the top of the sabretooth's head. They were pack. They were family. And he made this obvious to Ulquiorra as he positioned himself between them and the bat.

"Perhaps not your Hollow Pack. I am not stupid, Kurosaki-san. Your family in the human world, living and Shinigami or not, are still Pack and still family. If you'd have me, I'd remain in the human world as an 'overseer' of sorts for your human Pack. Alternately, safety crossing your territory come mating season will be just fine. Orihime is not made to withstand an Alpha's heat." He shrugged, landing lightly on a branch.

"You ascribe too much to my history with them. Safe passage you may have, but I have no Pack beyond the Sands. Bloodkin, yes. And those who would think to know me. But look deeper with those eyes you are so proud of," Ichigo growled lowly, unfurling his reiatsu like wings, "there are no Shinigami here. Nor Quincy. Nor Human." Alpha or no, those kinds of misconceptions were not welcome, "I think you've been away from the Sands for too long."

"I looked. I looked four days ago, when you not only came, you came with a soul you were willing to die to save. And you're going to brave worse dangers to protect, are you not? If that is not what you consider Pack, I question what is. Very well. It is not my business then. The Sands have never welcomed me." And it had, he reflected as he once again winged aloft, this time much faster, been foolish of him to hope it would have changed. He had been born defective and wrong, with no way and for that matter no desire to consume as the Sands demanded. He had simply been unwilling to die, either.

"That was different. Is different."

The Leader looked to his second, and frowned at the bat. It was true that they had history, but he hadn't meant to sound unwelcoming, only that he was wary of sharing with someone who'd been obsessed with him growing up. Especially if she continued to be obsessed with him now. Ichigo didn't understand how Ulquiorra didn't see that.

He took a step forward, "You speak of my motivations, but... I have to ask, have you considered theirs? The dangers you describe me facing, the risk to my life, and these so-called Pack members are all the same thing. I risked my life to save my dam, yes. I took a chance that my sire wouldn't run me through with his sword. I am hoping that those I have fought back to back with won't turn on me as I have watched them turn on countless others before me. I trained under two of those. Ultimately one paid with his life, and the other has lived in starvation and squalor since he was run out of his home. THESE are the people you would consider my PACK!?" Again he advanced on where the bat was riding reiatsu wind, "For once in my life I am considering MY well-being, MY safety, alongside those who would defend me, and you would question that decision!? At least Hollows kill for a reason. The Shinigami would execute me for EXISTING."

"You are posing that question to the wrong person, Ichigo Kurosaki. I have been exactly like that the moment I came to consciousness. I was a gift to all other hollows, even the weak; I was nothing but something for them to consume. I was not in your kind of Pack, I was simply food. All of us were food. When what I was supposed to know as Pack would execute me for existing, it never seemed unnatural that outside my so-called Pack was exactly the same. I was, am, have been, of no worth to anyone. Aizen did not change this: I was merely of use for a time. What you describe is what has always been Pack to me. Except no-one trained me so there was no figure I admired or appreciated for the rest of the pack to turn on."

Starrk growled up at him even as the bat spiraled yet higher. "That is NOT what Pack is supposed to be! I've told you that a thousand times! Leader isn't LIKE that, he doesn't run a Pack like that!"

"Good for him, then. May he remain so happy. I never said I questioned his decision. He can designate whatever Pack he chooses, and designate what is not. My gap in understanding is mine. I merely explained my ignorance, given I have never had a pack that did NOT want to kill me."

Ichigo roared, loud enough to be heard all the way down in Szayel's lab, "I NEVER WANTED TO KILL YOU! ALL I HAVE EVER WANTED TO DO WAS PROTECT WHAT WAS MINE! THAT HASN'T CHANGED!!"

He gave a snort, clearing his throat and nose.

"If you would be mine, I would have you where I can protect you. I cannot protect you in enemy territory. I learned that the hard way when I went against Yamamoto, and then against Aizen, and then against Ywach. Over and over and over I have thrown myself at those who would harm what was mine with no care for whether I came out on the other side of it still breathing."

As unprecedented as it was, he sat down, watching the bat as he flew further away. He didn't even know if Ulquiorra could hear him anymore, but he'd kept it all to himself. He hadn't even shared how he was feeling with Shiro. But the weight of it all. Sacrificing again and again and again was how he grew so tired. It was why he'd slept for so long. It was why the first selfish act he'd ever done was take a nap.

Ggio padded up to him, head ducked and ears back, to rub against his shoulder, or at least as much of it as he could reach given that the drake was far larger than he and Starrk combined.

Ichigo looked at him, gave him a soft nuzzle, and sighed, "Pack is family. Pack are those you can count on no matter what happens. Pack is the trust that they will defend you as you defend them, fully and completely. It's curling up with warm bodies all around you and knowing absolutely that you're safe." When Starrk joined them on the other side, Ichigo gave his cheek a lick, "It's knowing that even in a world where the weak are food for the strong, you will never be hunted down just for existing.

"I'm sorry you've never known what Pack truly is, Qio, but I would have you. You are welcome here, but I won't make you choose between us and Inoue. And it is not healthy for her to be in extended contact with me. She has an obsession that she needs to learn to let go of. You said yourself that my absence has allowed her to start. I won't undo all of that. And I won't come between you and her."

Ulquiorra spiraled lower again, coasting and frowning. His voice was quiet when he called back, and contemplative. "I do not think I can safely leave the Human World. The Shinigami there keep a very close watch on me and might consider me doing something they find dangerous if I moved back to Hueco Mundo permanently... or would find it an opportunity to take Orihime. She, as are the others who fought at your side, are under constant surveillance and I am not convinced the intention of that is anything but self-serving. I suspect heavily that disgusting creature who fought Szayel is behind it. I would not be… comfortable leaving the Human World with that surveillance still going. But I would also like to see… what you say Pack truly is."

He coasted lower yet, then twisted around into a hover.

"I need time to think."

Ichigo drew a long breath, "Then at least know you have safe passage here for mating season. Starrk will see to it that there is a place for you should you need somewhere to hide. But you are right to be suspicious of the Shinigami. There are many among them who would see us all dead, not just Mayuri. Be safe."

Ulquiorra nodded. "I will do my best."

He flipped upright again, giving his respect with a deep dip of wings and head, then flickered into a sonido-powered flight and disappeared from view to open his Garganta by the opposite side of the Menos Forest. No point inviting an activity swarm to Ichigo's doorstep.

Starrk's ears laid back flat to his skull. "I don't like that. I don't like that they're stalking our allies. Shinigami are poor hunters, but they're good at trying over and over until they succeed."

"Easy, Segunda." The drake rang his tongue over his teeth, "They will learn the folly of betraying mine in three days."

"Yer... not goin' alone... are ya, Leader?" Ggio looked nervous. He'd lived through the fall of one Pack, he didn't want to risk losing another if it could be avoided.

Ichigo leaned down and nuzzled him again, "I have to. We are strong though; they can't hurt me. And they _won't_ hurt the Pack if I have anything to say about it."

Starrk's hackles rose and fell. "They'll have to go through Lily and me first. Nothing is going to hurt this Pack." He flicked his tail, once, before looking up at Ichigo. "I wish I could watch when they learn the lesson you're going to teach," he sighed, leaning against Ichigo's leg.

"I won't put you all in danger if I can help it, and they are far more likely to be shoot first if I didn't come alone." Another cheek lick and the Leader got to his feet.

Ulquiorra was safely on the other side of his garganta, it was time to bring the kill home. And maybe see if there was a way to connect Szayel's surveillance equipment to Zangetsu. Ichigo wouldn't bring his Pack to the Shinigami home, but he did want them prepared in case the Shinigami ever came to _their_ home.

Though he was sure Ichigo knew it, Ulquiorra found himself unconsciously keeping track of how far away from the Pack he was until the gate between worlds closed behind him.


	7. Of Kittens and Ice Cream Cones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pack leader shifted, curling them both into the sands a little more comfortably. A nap sounded really good right about then, and Shiro agreed, nosing up the back of Grimm's neck with an echoed purr to the one his King was making.
> 
> Grimmjow suddenly sat bolt upright-- what? Why was someone nosing him?! But when he looked he was only more confused, making a low, rumbly noise and shifting back and forth. Who was this, why did he look and smell like Ichigo, and most of all, what the hell was he doing in his mating pile?!
> 
> ~~Or~~
> 
> In which, Grimmjow fucking finally shows up, to the detriment of Ulquiorra's hearing and Kisuke's nerves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, yeah, the one you've all been waiting for. XD
> 
> A small note as per the previous chapter, there will be 33 total pack members. Not everyone has had their day... or rather night in the moon yet. Hold onto your seats, lovelies, we're only getting started. ;3c

As usual the sunlight of the Living World strained his eyes, causing him to scowl harder and squint even as he re-sealed his form. Humans didn't understand Hollows at a fundamental level, seeing them as monsters due to the mindless masses that were too stupid to stay within the Sands, and further, the Shinigami considered it feral and uncivilized to hold one's true form. They even sealed their blades away, forcing the spirits within to take the shape _they_ wished, against whatever natural inclination the spirit had.

It was one of the many, many, reasons he adored his Heart. She let her power be what it was.

But she was not his target at the moment, as much as he would have liked to visit her at her "work"--the bakery where, for some reason, she spent most of her time during her waking hours--he had someone else he needed to see first. Someone he had never thought he would collaborate with, especially after Aizen fell. Thus, he carefully sonido'd across the river and over the houses until he reached the warehouse where the wannabe-Hollows lived.

On the one hand he could understand why Grimmjow threw himself against them, several were captain-level Shinigami, but on the other... well, the Sexta really had put it best when he said they were fake Hollows, out of touch with their power, little more than Shinigami with masks. They had no formal ranking system among them. They didn't even breed!

Ulquiorra wasn't even sure they fit into Ichigo's definition of Pack.

He landed on the roof with all the delicacy of winging in, though his wings were shifted away in the form of his jacket. "I still don't understand why you waste your time on them. They'll never respond the way you want them to."

Grimmjow turned to him without so much as bristling; they were both Alphas and Ulquiorra outranked him, but they were allied right now. He didn't need to get his ass handed to him EVERY time, not when a proper Hollow put him in his rank like Ulquiorra did.

"I keep fuckin' hopin' if I fight 'em hard 'nough, I'll draw th'Hollow outta them. I c'n feel it, hidin' way down deep, kept all locked up in cages. I can't break 'em for 'em, so I fight th'lock-keepers." He slunk over to Ulquiorra, giving him a light touch to his shoulder. "So? S'e as bad as these fuckers, or...?"

The Kurosaki he'd witnessed had so much _potential_. If he'd wasted it like the fake-hollow scum, he didn't think he could stand it. But if he hadn't... there was no guarantee he could run a Hollow Pack.

"No. He is..." Ulquiorra gave a tilt to his head, frowning, "He... It is hard to describe."

Without any further warning, the stronger Alpha ripped his left eye out and squashed it, allowing Grimmjow the chance to see both the _beast_ that was Ichigo's true form, and how synchronized the Pack had become. From his vantage point, even Nnoitra, Yylforte, and Tesla were visible, and the way the trio moved in unison to flank Ulquiorra should the need arise was breathtaking. They weren't just a unit among Hollows of a similar rank, this was a _team!_ And of course as Ulquiorra had banked around to watch, Nnoitra's newest scar became visible. It glowed bright red.

Grimmjow didn't even need to scent it to know where it had come from. He felt a shiver run down his spine- arousal? Excitement? Anticipation? He wasn't sure, and he couldn't pinpoint it. His hands kneaded at his forearms.

"He's made a real Pack," he purred, feeling the hair on the back of his neck stand up. "He's banded t'gether- he's truly a Leader. He ain't no Shinigami posin' as a Leader wit' non'a the trust 'r ability t'discipline, an' he ain't no elected fake-pack-commander. He even Marked 'is own!"

His own hands went to his scar before he could stop it, and his frown appeared when he encountered the bisecting scar on his collarbone. He'd almost asked Ulquiorra's Heart to take it away, but while she was skilled her power wasn't really that pinpoint or precise yet. And he refused to lose Ichigo's mark on him just remove Nnoitra’s lucky shot.

He looked to Ulquiorra once the recording ended. "D'you know what yer gonna do? We're stronger t'gether but he's righ' about yer Heart. She ain't ready t'come inta contact wit' him again."

"I find... my loyalties are divided. When he came through the Sands as an immature pup, he left his mark on all of us. Whether it is visible or not. No one has pushed me that deep into regeneration since before I left my littermates." The bat frowned, blinking a bit of blood from his eye socket, "And yet, you are all right. Loathe as I am to admit it in certain cases." His eyebrow lifted deliberately at Grimmjow, "Inoue is my lifemate, and I won't subject her to that sort of stress. But, as I said, I am uncertain. What He offers is something I've never had, something that makes me second guess my decision on procreating, and I'm all too aware that my Heart cannot do that for me. She is human under all of her strength."

Absently, Grimmjow offered him a red cloth Urahara gave him for mopping up blood after spars, after he got sick of cleaning blood spots up off the flooring. "I wonder… if ya told 'er ya plan t'head to Hueco Mundo t'breed, but din't say wit' who… no. He said He don't want 'is Pack outta 'is reach where He can't protect 'em. I dunno… she's yer Heart. D'ya think she might get over 'er obsession wit' 'im enough t'ever share ya or move wit' ya?"

"I don't know. It's not something we have discussed." Ulquiorra took the cloth gratefully, "I do know that He considers all of his former allies suspicious until proven otherwise, and given what I have seen of them, I don't blame Him much. Especially as power constipated as this lot seems to always be."

Grimmjow nodded his head, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, no kiddin'. He's been stabbed in th'back too many times by allies. Mebbe they pay their debts, in th'end, but that don't make up fer broken trust, an' he needs t'protect his Pack. They want in, they gotta earn it. Hell, m'sure I'd hafta, if I wanted in… after fuckin' Kisuke lets me go. IF he lets me go. Fucker's got a leash on me shorter than a fuckin' horny Beta."

"You should be so lucky." Though the slight smirk, teasing at the panther's lack of sex life, disappeared after a moment, "What _does_ he have on you that keeps you so close? Not even Aizen could keep you in the same world all the time, let alone close enough that he could find you whenever he wanted. It's something that's plagued me since the end of the Quincy debacle."

His lips thinned and he looked away, obviously uncomfortable. He even looked _shifty_ for a long, quiet moment. Finally he tossed his head and squared up his shoulders to take a deep breath. "Did I ever tell ya I survived after Nnoitra tried t'kill me 'cuz'a that- th' cub that used t'be Neliel th'Tricera? I owe her a life-debt, ain't got any chance t'pay it back."

Despite trying to be firm and steady, he was still visibly squirming.

"Kisuke Urahara's such a genius Aizen was jealous o' his skill. So I made a deal… my labor fer his. That's what he holds over m'head. He's got Nel, tryin'a fix 'er mask."

Now that his eye had grown back, Ulquiorra could squint effectively at Grimmjow. There was something not quite right about the Sexta's story, but it was obvious he was hiding whatever it was for a reason. So Ulquiorra simply gave him a slow nod.

"And I suppose if it was found that the Shinigami had reneged on your deal, you would be then free of his control, correct?"

"Shit yeah! If tha' fucker ain't been fixin' her I'll raze 'is lil' goddamn shop t'the ground!"

If he found out that fucker had been CHEATING him--! He suspected already Nel was long healed to the best of Kisuke's ability and he was just holding out to get more work out of Grimmjow, but shit, if she wasn't even better at all Grimmjow would get payback!

"Pardon, but I simply find it hard to believe that someone that made Aizen jealous would be so stupid as to think you would hang around simply because he was helping to repay your life-debt. One, you aren't that honorable, but more importantly, two, if he could implant his devices within both the Shinigami girl who was closest to--" Ulquiorra swallowed the word for Ichigo, as he still had not fully decided one way or the other and it felt wrong to use any of them at the moment, "and Aizen himself, then what exactly do you think he has done with you? Especially given that only Aizen was aware of the first, and no one was aware of the second until after they had been set off."

Grimmjow's eyes glowed, the clear, crystal blue of his Desgarron as they narrowed into slits. "If he's hurt her," he snarled, deep in his chest as his nails sharpened into claws, "I'll rend him limb from limb, I don't GIVE A SHIT what his fuckin' Bankai c'n do!"

"Is that so?" The bat merely blinked, an eyebrow lifted again, and proving that there was a significant difference between four and six in the ranking of Hollows. He actually smirked slightly, "I think I begin to see the picture more clearly. And. I think," he paused, closing the distance between them so he could speak more softly, "you should seek out the Primera where he dens and inform him of what has become of your daughter. If he believes as he says, I think you'll find freedom sooner than you hoped."

Ah, shit. That instinctive response to even an implied possible threat to his cub had given him entirely away. Damn!

The panther coughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I don' think I can. I mean-- I don't think I c'n leave to Hueco Mundo. M'almost positive he's got some tracker in or on me that I can't find, an' I don't- I can't- he's _too_ smart. Too genius. I wouldn't trust 'im not ta… not ta do somethin' stupid while I was gone an' couldn't stop him. If he's anywhere like th'same level o' Aizen… I don't fuckin' dare risk wha' he might do t'punish me. Not when it's m'cub on th'line."

This time, Ulquiorra did smile, cold and unconcerned. "I'm certain he does have a tracker on you, but the humans did not invent the concept of group parenting. If nothing else, the fire power you are going to see," there was a flicker of something--something dark and hungry--in the Cuarta's eyes, "will bring the Shinigami to their knees. Your pup may in danger now, but she won't be for long. Not once He finds out about it."

For a moment all Grimmjow could really contemplate was how weirdly that hunger seemed familiar to him. Like it called him, almost, or something. He might be projecting because he wanted to see emotions in the Cuatra. Instead he batted those thoughts aside.

"You met 'im. Y'think it'd be smarter t'wait a day t'go, or should I ask ya ta keep an eye on Urahara an' go now?"

"Again I can't say." Ulquiorra shook his head, the fire once again banked away. "I do know He has plans in three days. From what I understand of it, He intends to seek out His dam in the Shinigami den itself. And Starrk didn't seem to know when He would be back. So going sooner may be wiser."

He... he was strong enough for this. Grimmjow acknowledged Ulquiorra as his superior in strength, he did, and he could trust him. He couldn't think of a time Ulquiorra had ever gone back on his word. Not for anything. He took a deep breath.

"Will ya watch over m'cub an' m'captor so I can go petition fer freedom, Cuarta?"

It was more formal of a request than he was used to making; but if they ever managed to be in a Pack together, he'd better start practicing his manners. Especially if he was about to go see the King of the Sands.

"Naturally. I believe I'll go invite her and the others to... frozen cow's milk in hardened sugar dough." He gave a nod, and stepped to the edge of the roof. He wouldn't take off until Grimmjow had ripped his garganta, and he waited for it specifically.

Grimm nodded; a 'thank you' felt inappropriate here, given Ulquiorra had offered in the first place, and he ripped his garganta into the middle of the Adjuchas Dunes. Unlike the Menos Forest or the Vasto Lorde Plains, the Adjuchas Dunes held his favorite kind of prey: bountiful and too concerned with their own hunting to notice when they were being hunted. He was slipping into familiar paws even as he leaped through, and as the portal closed behind him he hit the sand running, tail lashing as he picked up a scent and started to track.

Hours later, prey was dragged rather than dropped at the edge of Ichigo's territory, nearer his own personal den than anywhere else. Grimmjow was proud of his offering; a fifty-foot-long snake hollow that left a red, gritty trail was not an easy feat, even for a panther!

"Two in one day?! Am I not allowed to--Grimmjow!" Ichigo was flanked again by Starrk and Ggio, which if he'd followed the previous tactics meant Nnoitra and the others were strategically placed around his territory in case this was ploy. But he stopped short, almost confused, "Does Hat-N-Clogs know you're here?!"

"Probably," he said, a little grimly as he climbed off the body of the snake and shook himself all over, sand clumps held together with blood flying away from his paws and shoulders. "Ulquiorra's with'em but m'pretty sure 'e's very aware where I am."

This was Kurosaki; his time was limited, and he was going to have to trust not only in what he knew of the Beta before him, but what Ulquiorra had seen just earlier that day. He bowed his forequarters, nose nearly touching the sand between his paws as his tail lashed for balance and his claws curled for purchase.

"I need help, an' I ain't got no time tryin'a do this m'self. Urahara has Neliel. He's s'posed t'be fixin' her, but she's still a cub, an' I don't know if it's his doin' or not. I need her back."

"He has... WHAT!?" Ichigo snapped, his teeth clacking together on the end of the word. Then he backed up several steps, shook himself, and roared, "NNOITRA!!!"

The Hollows nearest him flinched, Ggio actually ducking closer to Grimmjow in an attempt to look smaller, and the Quinta skidded to a stop, just falling out of sonido to one knee. He glanced up, head tilted to his bad side for more focus.

"Get her back. If Hat-N-Clogs resists," the drake growled low, and menacing, "bring him to me."

Grimmjow nodded, rising and giving Ggio a comforting nudge with his shoulder before he ripped open a garganta and jumped through. Yes, it was risky doing this right here on the edge of his territory, but when the King gave an order like that, you didn't waste time travelling to the other side of Hueco Mundo!

He knew by the reiatsu that Ulquiorra was still with Nel and Kisuke, and he arrowed for them the moment he was out in the Living World. A park, he recognized faintly as he ran, Ulquiorra had found ways to keep them all out and about. Good, that would make it much, much harder to try and take her away from them.

Nnoitra shifted to his human shape almost as soon as they touched down in the Living World. He sucked his teeth, and grinned, "Al'ays knew ya'd need m'help someday, Grimmy."

The panther shed his fur but not his armor, shifting into his Pantera release form with his ears laid flat and his paws flexing out their claws. "Ain't th'time, Nnoitra. He knows I'm back an' he knows I brought comp'ny, concentrate or yer dead."

He was looking around, following the reiatsu, and the closer they got the twitchier he became. He wanted to make a quip about how Nnoitra needed to keep his mouth shut, given his Leader did not take kindly to knowing where Nel was right now and did he think Ichigo forgot who turned Nel into a cub? He might not stay forgiven if he kept talking instead of rescuing.

He saved that for later, when the mission was safely accomplished. His cub took priority.

"You know, Grimm-kun, if you were getting lonely, all you had to do was ask. You didn't have to sneak off to Hueco Mundo." The shopkeeper's eye glinted from under his hat brim, both hands on the curved handle of his cane.

Nnoitra leveled Santa Teresa at him, "Leader wants his cub back, Shinigami! No tricks!" He grinned fiendishly, showing off the scar Ichigo gave him, "Or I'll hafta eat ya!"

Grimmjow wanted to groan at the lack of tact, or subtlety… or for that matter forethought. Instead he simply nodded. "Been hearin' things, 'bout what's goin' down in Hueco Mundo. Figured better not put it off an' risk 'is wrath. M'sure ya could imagine how… _unwise_ that'd be."

"Is that so?" Kisuke entirely ignored Nnoitra and his threats, "Then what did you find? Aside from old friends, of course."

"Snake hollow fifty feet long an' fun to kill. I didn't stick around real long, y'know. I migh' be reckless but I ain't stupid; when th'King o' th'Sands tells you to go, you _git_."

"King of the Sands?" The Shinigami barely flinched when Nnoitra's scythe met Benihime's wooden sheathe, and he stepped forward in spite of the rage directed at him. "That sounds like an auspicious title."

He spun, knocked Nnoitra's mask with the symbol on the bottom of his cane, and came back around to lean on it invitingly all in a single motion. The mantis stumbled back, cursed six ways, and promptly fell on his behind too dizzy to focus on anything but his feet.

"It is. Means he could kick all our asses inna fight an' kill whoever he wants. But he don't, because he don't need to; just kill what he needs t'eat an' those who'd threaten him an' his Pack."

The Sexta paced over to Nnoitra; he didn't really think he'd need defending when he was down, Kisuke was rather treating him like an annoying fly he'd swatted at to make it buzz off, but Ichigo lent him a helper and Packmate. He wasn't going to let him get too injured on his watch.

He noticed movement out of the corner of his eye, and an ear twitched as black wings folded against the dark blue sky and bright green eyes watched the proceedings. Recorded the proceedings.

"Nel's His Pack long b'fore she was mine. If I din't tell Him where she is an' if she's safe, s'invitin' Him ta make me food an' take her back by force."

"What makes him think she's not in the best hands possible? The only other Hollows in Karakura at the moment are you three, and I daresay among the three of you, there isn't an adjuchas alive that could get past you if it threatened her. Unless," Kisuke gave a small shift of his head, making the shadow of his hat darker, "you mean to say, he doesn't trust me."

Grimmjow arched an eyebrow. "Consider: anything remotely Shinigami's fucked Him over a goddamn barrel backwards. Multiple times. Even you _killed_ Him. Ain't nowhere in th'Four worlds safer than at His side. An'-" he pointed at him with two claws, "ya ain't infallible. Aizen stole this whole fuckin' town once, an' y'all barely repelled 'im. Din't wit'out losses, either. I can't speak fer Him, but if I was Him I wouldn' fuckin' trust a goddamn thing about anyone I din't hand-pick. Too many enemies crawlin' outta th'woodwork. An' he never chose you. _You_ went ta _Him_."

"So that's how it will be... I had wondered..." The shopkeeper's voice dropped, almost as though he was speaking to himself, and he looked down at his hands on Benihime’s handle again. He drew a breath and nodded, "I suppose every student outstrips the master at some point. Very well," he looked up, a bright, if sad, smile on his face, "you and yours are free to go. But you are wrong about one thing. He did choose us once, a long time ago, when he was in need of someone who could give him the power he needed to protect his own."

He stepped to the side, flipping his jacket back to reveal the hidden sometimes-cub. She blinked, pulling her hands from her ears, and looked around.

Scowling, she kicked Kisuke's shin, "Boshi said hide and seek! That not hide and seek! That hide and no seek!! Nel not pway anymore!"

"Aha! Very sorry, Nel-chan, your papa distracted me from seeking." The expression on his face was almost innocent enough to be believed; he was even holding his weight off of the leg she'd kicked. "Why don't you run along now and tell Papa all about what we did today, hm?"

"Be glad t'hear it, cub. Didja 'ave fun wit' Ulqui? As much fun as Ulqui c'n be, anyway?"

Grimmjow held out his hands, both of them, for his cub, and for a moment glanced at the Quinta. His hackles were bristled, careful and on guard, but he was pretty sure this wasn't a trick. Urahara was a lot of things, but stupid he was not, and if he pulled any bullshit there were witnesses.

Nel ran to him, rambling about ice cream cones and how Ulquiorra didn't get why they were licked until after he bit one. Her voice was a constant burble in his ear as Kisuke stepped back, giving them enough space to open the garganta. He kept both hands on his cane. Out where they could see them. Even when Nnoitra shook his head and climbed to his feet with a growling protest. It truly did seem like he was just going to let them go.

Grimmjow backed away, slowly, and kissed her head as he kept both eyes and one ear on Kisuke. Just in case. Then he opened the garganta.

The trip through and back to Ichigo's territory was quick; Nel was a little squirmy but mostly excited to go see “Itsygo!!" and with Nnoitra accompanying him, it was quite clear he came with approval. So when he crossed the border, it was with complete confidence and a sure step.

And then he cursed several times as Nel wriggled right out of his arms and set off at a dead run straight into the heart of the den, making him do the same.

Without even thinking, as soon as her reiatsu entered his senses, Ichigo shifted to his humanoid form. He couldn't completely replicate how he'd looked the last time she saw him, but he could get close. So when she inevitably launched herself at his shoulder, he didn't even flinch. He simply wrapped his arms around her and buried his nose in her hair like she was his own.

And that was when he started purring.

Nnoitra sniffed, gave Starrk a glance as if to dare him to question why he, out of the three of them, bore marks of battle when the others didn't, and huffed off to find Tesla and Yylforte. He did _not_ want to talk about how the Shinigami had swatted him like an irritating bug.

Grimmjow's ears perked, still in his resurrection, and he sidled carefully closer. Purring? Yes, purring. He started purring as well, softly, as he came up on the other side of Nel and nosed lightly at her hair. "She's safe'n sound. Kisuke wasn't doin' no good, but he din't do no harm neither."

"That goes without saying for Hat-n-Clogs." Ichigo headbumped against her, nuzzling her nose. Then he spoke in her ear, a hissing sound that tickled and made her squirm.

"KAY!!" She squealed, jumping out of his arms with a laugh. She bounded half-way across the common room, then turned, waved, and called, "Bye, Mama Itsy!"

Then she was gone, running at top speed... in Starrk's direction. When the Segunda realized this, he looked to his leader pleadingly, but all Ichigo did was smile, waving them on.

"TAG!! Puppy gots to catch Nel! HAHA!!"

Lilynette materialized in the form of a smaller wolf with bright green fluff of fur down her back, and barked as she took off after the cub, “GET BACK HERE, PUP, AND SHOW YOUR ELDERS SOME RESPECT!!”

Starrk heaved a long-suffering sigh, but gave himself an all-over shake and took off after them at a quick lope, his tail giving slow wags. For all he might not want to chase as much as he wanted a nice nap, Nel was a cub and she would be indulged.

Grimmjow blinked, ear flicking, and reminded her "Play nice! No tail-pulling!" before he turned his attention to Ichigo, who surely must have a reason for getting the cub to leave them alone for a bit.

Ichigo sighed fondly, and flopped back onto the soft sand he had piled together. It wasn't exactly a couch, but it was close enough. Then he ran his hand through his hair, combing it back around the horns he never truly lost anymore.

"Y'know, she's smells of you."

He smiled. "She oughta. I'm her Papa."

For all that it wasn't a Hollow word, he liked it as a descriptor; he sired her, he'd raised her, but "Alpha" wasn't right. Papa covered that nicely. He looked at the spot next to him before settling into it delicately; if Ichigo didn't want him there, he could shove him away easily.

"Heh." For a handful of breaths, the pack leader was silent. It almost felt like he was watching Grimmjow for something, but when nothing happened, he leaned over, into the panther's personal space, "Twelve years ago you would have been itching to fight me. I'm stronger than I've ever been, and you're almost more timid that a housecat. Are you afraid of me, Grimmjow?"

He gave him a level look. "Fucking HELL nah. But neck-deep in yer territ'ry ain't the place t'be issuin' challenges. If ya 'appen t'meet me on the border… it'd be a different story." His grin was wild and hungry, as the blue of his eyes flashed the color of his reiatsu.

Ichigo pressed closer, deliberately crowding him. "Even though the last time we crossed paths, I flattened you with a thought?"

He pressed back, lip pulling back to show more of his teeth. "I ain't as weak as I was when Aizen capped our power."

"No, I daresay you aren't. But what, exactly, does that mean to me?" The drake's tongue curled over a fang--another trait he couldn't entirely get rid of anymore. "You came begging to my Pack for aid, and I've yet to see what you have to offer. Besides... a big... thick... python..."

His grin turned sly and he curled his tail over his own hip, plainly showing off. "Ain't a python like tha' a fair enticement? But...." he rolled over onto all fours, claws digging into the sand, "I'd be happy to show you what I'm… _packing_."

"Hmm..." Ichigo leaned on his hands, body twisted in a coy tease, "It's almost like you get off on being completely overpowered. It's almost a shame you haven't formally joined the Pack."

He licked his lips. "Surely ya could use a good, strong Alpha," he purred, "reliable. Already got a cub. What's needed t'make it formal?"

A subtle shift of sand brought them nose to nose, and a flick of his tongue mimicked Grimmjow, "You asking."

"Well this's me askin'. Let's make't formal. Count me among yer pack, King O' th'Sand?" His tail curled, and he licked his lips- flicking Ichigo's, too.

A shiver ran down the drake's spine, followed by an approving purr that came all the way from his toes. Then he pounced, tumbling them over the sand until he was kneeling atop the cat, his hands on his chest. "Only if you promise not to make anymore deals with Shinigami."

"Easily," he swore. "No more fuckin' crazy Shinigami! Shit, I treated m'Fracciones better-- an' I fuckin' ate bites outta them!"

He was none the worse for the tumble, even looked rather pleased as he reached up and carded his claws through the orange hair.

Ichigo couldn't help it, he leaned into the touch and purred hard enough to vibrate all the way down. And more, his eyes fell closed, and his chin lifted such that Grimmjow could see the entire length of his throat; sweet, unmarked, and vulnerable where if he so chose, the panther could take full advantage.

He did, without a thought of hesitation; he leaned forward and fastened his mouth to that beautifully unmarked expanse, sucking and licking, and using his teeth carefully. It wouldn't be like he was trying to tear his throat out; he just wanted his teeth impressions to bleed a little and remain for a while after.

"Ahn~!" Talons dug into the Alpha's shoulders, and the gasping moan echoed down the hallway to the deeper dens.

Somewhere internally Ichigo was questioning everything he thought he'd known about his sexuality, and was very abruptly reminded that there had always been one that got a rise out of him. One that he'd felt so drawn to he almost forgot the whole mission at the time. And that one currently had his paws all over him. It made him melt into a puddle of 'yes please!'

Grimmjow pressed forward into him, purring deeply in his throat as he worked his jaw to make the mark deeper. His hands kneaded and pulled, desiring, and he started to move over him.

Yes, that was good. That was right. Oooooooooh~! Ichigo let himself be manhandled, grinding unconsciously against him, and he responded to the marking by giving back as good as he got, his talons drawing blood in ten punctures.

He put him on his back in the sand, letting go of the main mark to leave smaller, lighter marks down the side of his neck, and growling softly as he nipped sharply. His claws, on the other hand, trailed over his skin very tenderly, and he rumbled approval as he covered more skin.

The feeling of sand on his shoulders, the press of hard feline dick against his hip, and the release of Grimm's teeth on his throat had Ichigo purring again, a few more of his wits coming back together than before. "Ah, ah, Grrrmmm, d'y'know mmmm how ahhhaah this works? Mmm'xactly?"

He looked up from the shoulder he was sucking purple bruising into with a growl. He released his skin to sit up, tail lashing lightly even as his fingertips found sensitive little nubs and gave them a pinch. "What, ch'a think I never mated b'fore?"

"You may have, but I haven't." Ichigo blinked, propping himself up on his elbows to tilt his head at him. "I know you have. What part of I know Nel is your cub didn't you understand earlier?"

"...Not even when ya were pretendin' ya were shinigami?" His ears flicked back and forth, and he blinked. Surely the mechanics of it couldn't be that different!

"Ew! No. It just... ew! Do you have any idea how YOUNG I was back then!?"

And the look on the drake's face conveyed that he had a very firm grasp on maturity from a Hollow standpoint. He'd been barely more than a cub when Rukia gave him his powers the first time, and only a few years older than that when living among Humans became too much to deal with. When the Living World as a whole became unsustaining and abrasive to his very sense of self.

His head tilted more. "...From th'sound of it, no. I had no idea ya were that young," he admitted, scratching the back of his neck, then he shrugged. "So- ya wan' me t'explain it?"

"Not... I mean... I... kinda know. I mean. Um..." Ichigo's cheeks lit up in a bright blush, "I looked some stuff up, human stuff. Like lube and stuff that's supposed to feel good, and I know how to--what I mean is... I've--ohsandsjustswallowmewholethisissobad." He covered his face, mumbled into his palms, then took a deep breath, and without looking at his partner, explained, "Look. I know how to jack off. But that's all the experience I have with it. I just wasn't ever interested, and it even maybe made me a little uncomfortable when all the girls kept taking their clothes off and then the guys were doing the same thing because Rukia got it in her head that somehow I was gay. And I just only really sort of figured out that maybe by human terms I'm some kind of asexual except that I'm not human or shinigami so their terms don't really apply too much. And I was in that in-between stage between cub and adult and I still actually, honestly, haven't had my first heat yet, and Shii thinks that maybe it's because I needed time to recover from having been forced to live in the Human World for so long after dying, but that really doesn't matter too much because I know I want to with you. You're like the only person I've ever been actually physically attracted to, even though I didn't understand it at the time, and just kill me now. Please? I think I'm probably gonna just die of embarrassment anyway so you might as well put me out of both of our misery."

The panther’s nose twitched a bit and he considered. "Why th'fuck would I kill m'mate? D'I look that dumbass, Kitten?" He leaned back on his knees, his butt resting on Ichigo's thighs. "It'd be an honor t'help ya through yer first heat, don'cha know that?" Then he wrinkled his nose. "Y'know how th'Hollow genders work?"

"Vaguely. Starrk explained some stuff, Shii and I figured out other stuff by instinct. I know we are Beta, and that means 'Mama Ichi' isn't just a nickname, and anatomy. But if I'm missing shit then I can't exactly ask about it." The drake gave a small sigh, curling his hands together over his chest in residual embarrassment. "And it was just a figure of speech cuz it's you and it's really hard to have this conversation when you're sitting in my lap with my dick sort of pushed up against yours..."

Grimmjow ground against it and arched his tail, purring at the sensation. "Don't I fuckin' know it's _hard_ t'had this conversation righ' now, Kitten. Bu' I don't think it'd be smart t'wait 'til yer first heat ta 'ave sex. If ya start now, heat'll be easier on yer body."

"Oh, you did _not_ just make that pun. No. Really?! Ugh! That was so bad!!"

The sand made a whoosh sound as he plopped his head back down with an arm over his eyes, and stayed that way because talking without looking at Grimmjow was easier.

"And I know that. Or at least that's what both Shii and Starrk have said, and Szayel offered to just 'get it out of the way' but he's a Beta too and just no. And the only Alpha around that could probably handle having sex with me, at least according to both Shii and Starrk, is Nnoitra and... that is just a complicated situation that I don't even want to get into with you anyhow, let ALONE when you're sitting on my dick."

Grimmjow wiggled on it, bending closer to his chest. "Mebbe not," he admitted, "but I ain't inclined t'move too soon. S'a damn nice dick. Anyway, ain't like I'm gonna pin ya down an' full-on rut ya; that's fer when yer heat comes 'round. An' tha's how ya'll _want_ it then. Hard, fast, no time fer lube, teeth in th'back o' yer neck..." He leaked a pearly drop of precome and growled. "Anyway, ain't no reason we have t'stop doin' this."

"Nnnnn~!" Ichigo was definitely not complaining, arching up into the touch, and when Grimm's breath breezed over his skin, his purr started up again. "T-talking like that isn't fair."

No, he wasn't in heat yet, but fuck if that image didn't send all kinds of nice things down his spine. Even Shiro was purring internally. The white twin egging him on because what was Ichigo's was Shiro's, and what was Shiro's was Ichigo's. So that meant both fury and pleasure. And with Grimmjow teasing their dick like that, it echoed back and forth between them like soundwaves. Their reiatsu pulsed and vibrated, begging for more.

Grimmjow settled into a regular rhythm easily, grinning wildly as he did, and his hands started again kneading at Ichigo's chest. "Did I ever say I was fair, Kurosaki?"

"At l-least..." His breath hitched, "use my... fuckin'... first name, damn it!"

Somehow his hands found the panther's thighs, gripping and teasing the skin with his claws. He spread his legs to get more contact, arching off the sand into the panther’s rhythm.

He laughed softly, a wonderful rumble between them that smoothed into a moan as he continued grinding, pressing harder, his tail winding around one of Ichigo's thighs. "So ya wan' me t'call ya Ichigo? Hm? You gonna call me Grimm then?"

"F-fuck." The redhead bucked, chin up and throat bare, "Y-you're my... mmmmmmy Alpha. W-why wouldnnnnnn~T I? Ohfuckyesthere!"

He descended again on his neck, loving the sound of his voice when he said "my Alpha" and making it known with another purr, now biting harder marks up and down the expanse. It was going to be scabbed and red in many places after this, but a true mating bite he'd save for his heat. Not that he thought another Alpha could possibly come along, but- and someone might call him stupid for it- he just FELT it wasn't a proper mating bite unless you made it in the heat of a rut, powered on reiatsu and the deepest pleasure and desire to claim.

After that there was no talking, Ichigo grabbed on with one hand buried in Grimmjow's hair, and the other digging his claws into his thigh. He moaned high and long, reiatsu flooding the den with the lust of sex. His voice warbled on the end of it, almost a bugle sound that stated his very real intentions of taking this to the next level when his heat hit. And he came, pulsing and pulling at the same time, the place below his dick spasming with want of being filled, and slick escaped him from both places.

Grimmjow came not long after Ichigo did, grinding into him and his nose filling with the smell of sex and need and his mate, though he wasn't fertile yet. He rubbed their bodies together when he came, laying his entire body over him and relaxing with an ongoing purr, smirking hard. He smelled good covered in Grimmjow's scent.

The pack leader shifted, curling them both into the sands a little more comfortably. A nap sounded really good right about then, and Shiro agreed, nosing up the back of Grimm's neck with an echoed purr to the one his King was making.

Grimmjow suddenly sat bolt upright-- what? Why was someone nosing him?! But when he looked he was only more confused, making a low, rumbly noise and shifting back and forth. Who was this, why did he look and smell like Ichigo, and most of all, what the hell was he doing in his mating pile?!

Sleepy and orgasm-high, both twins blinked, drawn to each other by magnetism when the Alpha moved. Without thinking, Ichigo leaned over and nuzzled into Shiro's hair, the white copy nipping at his jaw in a preening fashion, and they were both purring.

"Why'd you move, Grimm?" Ichigo yawned, blinking harder. Why was his left eye not clearing? It felt like there was film over it.

"Because there's someone 'ere tha' wasn't 'ere an' I don't know this Hollow! Who's this?!" He pointed at the white one, "an' where didja even come from?!"

His orgasm high was wearing off quickly, and he didn't understand why Ichigo wasn't more alarmed at this stranger sneaking up on them.

"He? Who? What?" Ichigo lifted his hand to rub at his eye, leaning on Shiro, who was coincidentally on his left. When rubbing didn't solve the issue, he turned his head and smiled, "Well, wouldja lookit that. Shii."

Shiro smiled sleepily at him, still purring. "Hi, King."

Grimmjow threw his hands up. "Ya know this hollow, Ichi?!"

"This is Shiro. My... erm... are you still an inner hollow if you're out here?" Ichigo frowned, then gave into the urge to preen his twin's cheek in the places that he couldn't reach himself in their drake form.

"Mmmm, I think I'm just yer hatchmate now, King," Shiro hummed, preening him back and flipping his tail back and forth in a slow curl. He side-eyed Grimmjow, with an equally fuzzy film over his right eye--though his was dark grey as opposed to white. "We come as a package deal, Alpha. Ya gonna nest us or not?"

Grimmjow stared at them, looking one to the other, then shrugged and plopped back down right between them with a huff. "I dunno how this happened an' I don't give a damn. Two mates works fer me."

"Think of it as twins. Two cubs, one litter, and the Living World starved us both to the point of being a single body. Make more sense?"

The explanation fell off of his tongue like he'd always known it, and somehow, when he blinked a rumbly voice that didn't quite make words confirmed his theory. After all, litters were common to Hollows, the greater the number of cubs the more likely one of them would survive to adulthood and make cubs of their own. Pushing the species towards better adaptability and survival. The fact that Ichigo had in a sense 'consumed' his twin before birth only further supported the fact that the Living World had been starving him from the moment he was conceived.

Wouldn't Aizen have been tickled to know that his 'parasite' Hollow hadn't actually done any of the things he'd intended with it. Instead, it had created the perfect womb for Hollow cubs. If Masaki had come to Hueco Mundo before giving birth, Shiro might have been born externally, and both twins would have thrived far faster than they had. But as it was, survival was still their biology's top priority. So their souls had done what they needed to given the limited resources at their disposal.

Now that there was more food, in a better atmosphere, they could be two without strain, instead of one.

"Ooooohhhhh," Grimmjow breathed into Ichigo's hair. "Way more sense. Well, more mates fer me, I ain't complainin'. Two mates, more cubs," he said with easy pleasure, subsiding between the two of them and reaching back to pull Shiro close.

The white twin once more nuzzled up into the back of Grimm's neck, purring again and reaching around him to hold onto his King for comfort. Yes. This was perfect.

Ichigo resumed purring when Grimmjow laid back down, and tucked his nose under the panther's chin for more intimate cuddles. Now was cuddle time. Mating and cubs and dealing with all of that could come later.

Grimmjow and Shiro agreed wholeheartedly, curling around him and each other for a well-earned nap. Cuddle time was now.


	8. Why Don't You Run?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Hhhmmmm..." She yawned, once, before swinging her legs out of bed and putting bare feet delicately on the floor to stand.
> 
> With another stretch, arms above her head, she finally opened her eyes, blinking at all the strange and unfamiliar faces around. 
> 
> "Oh, dear."

For three whole days, or at least what counted as days in Hueco Mundo, Ichigo and Shiro kept the newest Alpha to themselves. Most of the time was spent... in education. Which really meant Grimmjow fucking Ichigo, or Shiro, or both, on top of and underneath any available surface in the den; from the common room to the twin's bed. The ginger-haired drake even topped a couple of times, though it hadn't been as satisfying. More a means to get off than actual pleasure.

His favorite, he discovered the night before he had to leave, was having Grimmjow take him from behind while Shiro swallowed his dick. It gave him something to hold onto instead of having his face pressed into the sand, and the white twin didn't seem to have a gag reflex, so they could thrust as hard as they wanted and it didn't matter. And Shiro, it turned out, definitely enjoyed being handled roughly. At the end of that night he collapsed on top of them both, covered in bite marks and bruises, unable to move, unable to talk, unable to think for all the sunshine flooding his reiatsu at the moment.

So when morning came and Ichigo woke, the beginning of that seventh day, he very neatly tucked his twin back into his mindscape, gave Grimmjow a soul-searing kiss, and shifted back to his four-legged form to gallop out over the sands until he could safely travel to Soul Society.

Naturally, his arrival in the sunny land of Shinigami was about as subtle as it had ever been, complete with an explosion of dust and reiatsu that blew out one of the shoji screens that functioned as the door to Renji's apartment.

"Really, Ichigo? You not only appear out of literally nowhere, you just had to break one of my best screen doors? I just fixed that from the last time Kenpachi-taicho came through here wanting a spar!"

Renji didn't even have the grace to look scared, just disgusted. He threw his hands up in the air, then snatched his sunglasses over his eyes because of the force of sheer reiatsu still radiating off the former Substitute.

"Rangiku told me a few things. You gonna go t'her first, or deal with the higher-ups first?"

"Eh... sorry? I'm out of practice with doors okay!" The ginger rubbed the back of his head, coiling his reiatsu as tight as possible. The wince hadn't been obvious, but he'd picked up on it anyway. "Her? As in Mom? Or her as in Rangiku?"

"Both," he replied promptly. "Ran never lets her out of her sight. An' me, Rukia, Byakuya, even Kenpachi have taken turns keepin' Mayuri away from 'er. Kenpachi-taicho loves using it as an excuse to try'n kill him, if only th'fucker didn't come prepared with a spare body an' that wierd goo." He shuddered just remembering the foul stuff.

Ichigo couldn't control the growl that ripped from his chest, "If he's touched a HAIR on my mother's head, he'll wish Kisuke had left him in the Maggot's Nest where he belongs!"

"He hasn't, but ya c'n put 'im back in there anyway. Nobody'll mind," Renji promised with a sharp grin. "Not even 'is division. But anyway, tha' don't answer m'question. Which one first?"

He gave himself a shake to settle his temper again, and breathed deeply, "Let's see Rangiku first. I want the paperwork and shit out of the way before I see Mom."

"A'right. I'll take over guardin' then," he said briskly, putting Zabimaru where they belonged at his hip. "Try'n keep yerself ta my slow pace, ain't nobody can match you anyway," he teased, before stepping into the air and taking off with shunpo.

"I know how to hold back!" Ichigo huffed, darting after Renji.

Shiro's laugh echoed through his head when he arrived at the door to the Tenth with no sign of the redhead anywhere. Huffing internally, he leaned against the framework to wait, and mentally growled at his twin. It wasn't his fault he was the fastest. With Gin maimed, Shinsou had fallen behind, leaving Zangetsu to take his place at the top.

Renji arrived almost thirty full seconds after Ichigo, and when he did get there he bent over with his hands on his knees. "Know how to- haa, hold back my ass! Fuckin' hell Ichi!"

He pounded on the door, five knocks, a beat, then one, and Toshiro opened it.

"She is in the back office. Maybe once you're done with her I can get some paperwork done; you've awakened some sort of dedication in her. I hope it lasts once your task is through," he sighed.

"I was practically walking..." Ichigo grumbled to the sound of Shiro rolling around laughing on the side of a skyscraper. He lifted an eyebrow at the captain of the Tenth, "You're welcome? When did you get taller, Toshiro?"

"Sword spirits don't always know what's good for you," he quipped. "Now I finally reflect my age in my body." He paused. "...Thank you for noticing. I didn't think you wouldn't, but most people don't think they should mention it. I'm proud of how I've grown, in body and power. As I'm sure you are," he smiled, before standing aside and gesturing them in.

"Proud of you? Naturally." Ichigo smiled, walking shoulder to shoulder with him. "Better to mention the elephant in the room, that way it doesn't get tripped over by accident. Or forgotten."

Toshiro found himself flushed in the cheeks; he'd meant Ichigo was proud of  _ himself _ . How neatly he'd turned that around! 

"Which elephant is this? The one where you're definitely Hollow, your mother is safely sealed in my back room, you somehow got a team of people guarding her without setting foot here, or Rangiku is actually doing work for a change?"

"I meant you growing up, but those too. Geez, it's almost like you collect elephants." The Pack Leader crossed the room and perched on the edge of Toshiro's desk, "So, cutting to the chase, who do I have to kill to ensure she stays safe?"

"Mayuri," he answered without a beat of hesitation, and when Renji sputtered gave him a deadpan look. "Though in order to ensure her full safety… she likely shouldn't stay here at all. She… she hasn't woken up, and--I don't know how to explain it, but… she seems to have gotten… skinnier? Unohana-taicho put her on all the equipment that SHOULD sustain her even in her coma-sleep, and yet... she doesn't seem to be holding up properly. Perhaps you'll know what it is."

He shook his head; he had no explanation for why she wasn't able to maintain herself here, surrounded by safety and reiatsu.

Ichigo scowled, deeper and darker now that he had the full backing of his Hollow, and stood, just barely before knocking everything off of Toshiro's desk with his tail. "I had been hoping to get the paperwork out of the way first, but I guess we'd better go see her."

"Yes," Toshiro showed him the way, and let his face betray some of his worry. 

She'd lost almost five pounds, according to Unohana's testing. None of them knew why, but from what Kurosaki senior had told Rangiku, she'd been in the belly of a Hollow for years. Who knew what kind of changes that had inflicted on her?

The glance Ichigo stole at Renji betrayed his hold on his shift, his left eye was converted entirely, but he followed the captain through the halls of his division to the back room. Once inside his hand flew to his nose and he didn't even look at the machines Unohana had hooked up to his mother, he just started shutting them down. She smelled of death and the kind of medicine that meant no one had any hope for her survival. Instinct took over. When Rangiku tried to intervene, he snapped at her, vicious fangs a breath away from her skin.

" _ The Hunger grips her. _ " Shiro's voice echoed externally without Ichigo speaking.

Toshiro moved to keep Rangiku out of the way when she would have tried again, and Renji hung near Ichigo to offer help if he wanted it. "Then you know what's wrong? You know why she's losing weight?"

"She's STARVING." The Hollow King growled accusingly, and glared at the three of them. "Your world is thin and pitiful. The very air here is weak." A shudder ran through his reiatsu as he gathered Masaki into his arms, "You should have called me when you noticed things weren't going right."

Like water, he flowed into the bed with her, holding her close and raising his reiatsu slowly. How he did it, he couldn't have explained. He wasn't even sure it would work, but some instinct said that if she was exposed to it, she might absorb some of it. So he pressed harder, physically pushing the Shinigami back from the bed.

Their own raised in a shield around themselves individually. "How? How can she be starving, unless--"

Rangiku finished her captain's thought. "Unless she absorbs it like Hollows do. How else would she've sustained her individual soul while inside that monster? Of course she stole power from him, as he stole it from other spirits and the air of Hueco Mundo. That must be it... We didn't know, Ichigo. We didn't know it was even possible."

"That's the whole problem with  _ Shinigami _ ." He used the name as a curse. "You don't know, but you act anyway. You think you see the full picture when really all you see is what you want to see, and in your centuries of life, you've stagnated. Your very people starve in the streets. All three of you should know better, I know where you came from." 

His voice was hard. He didn't hate them exactly, but he was disgusted by their lack of action. The nobles he could forgive simply for the fact that they were kept ignorant by scared old souls who didn't want to lose the power they had, but these? Toshiro? Rangiku?  _ Renji? _ They'd grown up in the Rukongai, they should have at least been working to fix the imbalance, not hiding behind their walls safe and snug. And he practically spat at them.

"If we hadn't been donating reiatsu to be fed to her by Unohana, it wouldn't be only five pounds she'd lost," Toshiro's voice was just as sharp. "You were unreachable, and we tried everything anyone could think of. A direct IV of pure reishi was the only thing that seemed to help her, but you were on the way, and you have more resources than we do. We did what we could with what we found helped. It's not like we could wake her! And if any of us donated  _ too much _ reishi, how quickly do you think someone on the council would have questioned why two captains and two vice captains all from different divisions were at less than half-power?"

"An' it ain't like Hat-n-clogs could pop in fer a visit," Renji added, a little bitterly. "Mayuri's been trackin' alla us AN th'Dangai since he realized there's a Quincy here."

"And Unohana would have slit his throat before she let him touch any patient of hers, besides," Rangiku growled.

"Unlike you, we don't live freely. We  _ are _ from Rukongai. That means we're much more aware of the eyes on us than you are, and know the moment we're caught stepping out of line, we're as good as playthings for Mayuri."

Ichigo gave a tilt to his head, one that all of his Pack recognized as dangerous. "Yeah, they watch you constantly, monitor your every move, and record anything you do, looking for an excuse to take you out. And you all sit around with your precious walls, and your meager safety, and. Let. Them. When you all threatened the lives of my Pack, did I sit by and idly let you do it? No. I fought back. I made them listen. I had thought that made an impact on you, but I see now you would rather live under their control."

Shiro leaned on his King's mind, reminding him what their true purpose was, and the ginger looked down to see how she was taking it. Already her cheeks were more rosey.

Then he pinned the Shinigami again, "And if you think, for one minute, you wouldn't have the whole of Soul Society behind you, you're more blind than I thought. The reason the Pack rules the Sands is not in power. The Pack rules with numbers. But it's no scales off my nose what you do with your dens. Just know that if he sets foot in MY territory, he won't be an issue."

The air remained tense for a moment, a moment that seemed to stretch on and on until it seemed it  _ must _ snap, and the Captain was starting to tense up.

Then from the nearly-forgotten bed, a rustling broke not only the tension, but called everyone's attention to the figure slowly sitting up. She stretched, flexing arms and fingers and toes, folding her knees under her, like she was waking from a normal sleep.

"Hhhmmmm..." She yawned, once, before swinging her legs out of bed and putting bare feet delicately on the floor to stand. This she even accomplished easily, with no wobbling or trouble. Somehow, she'd managed to suspend her entire body within Grand Fisher, not losing muscle tone or mobility. With another stretch, arms above her head, she finally opened her eyes, blinking at all the strange and unfamiliar faces around. 

"Oh, dear."

Now that she was awake, Ichigo ducked his head, smiling hopefully at her, "Um, hi...?"

It wasn't likely that she remembered him, not only because he'd only been a small child when she'd died, but also because nobody really remembered their Living World lives very well. At least, nobody who died the normal way. Ichigo was an exception, as usual, and for once, it made him grateful to Urahara. Cutting his soul chain and putting him back in his body almost immediately afterward meant that he kept all of his memories of being alive without the disadvantage of actually dying. But such had not been the case with his mother.

She didn't even look a day over thirty!

She studied him a moment, her eyes shrewd, before her mouth curled in a small, sweet smile. "My, how you've grown since last I saw you… my son. And I thought you were handsome at fifteen!"

She reached for him, laughing when she had to reach UP to take his cheeks in her hands, tracing them with a mother's true touch.

"I saw you, though  _ his _ eyes. I'm so very glad you destroyed him; but I am sorry for the pain he caused you. Taunting you, with a lure that looked like me--!"

She shook her head with a low, furious growl, and her body lit up Quincy blue before her slowly-replenishing reiatsu puttered back to dormancy.

"Mom." He hugged her, a full-body wrap of his arms around her torso, and a headbump besides.

Whatever irritation he'd had with the Shinigami up to that point was gone in the relief that she knew him. He nuzzled into her hair, purring loud enough to vibrate the floor, and his tail curled in a not-so-subtle barrier between her and everything else. It wasn't that he hated his former allies. He just didn't trust them, especially not with the most precious part of his life.

Toshiro nodded to the other two. "Come. She's awake and they deserve their privacy."

Rangiku and Renji nodded, and the three of them quietly slipped out the side door to give the two their time together.

Masaki held her son as hard as she could, for she didn't fear breaking him as she might have as a child. Her little boy was all grown up, and come into his own in ways she could never have imagined! "Oh, Ichigo… how much I missed you!"

"Me too, Mom." He could hardly talk for the way his purr was so loud. It made him blush a little, "Heh. Not used to two voices yet."

She chuckled. "You'll adjust. You always do, my little survivor. But that will have to wait I'm afraid. We've got a weasel to catch, at the moment."

"Baroo?" The confused headtilt was entirely picked up from his Segunda, and the noise too, as Ichigo frowned at her.

She smiled, right as alarms started ringing throughout all of Seireitei, the clamoring claxon call of a jailbreak. "Someone I have a score to settle with is out of whatever bondage they had him in. Want to help me hunt him up, Ichigo?"

"Who--?" The question died on his lips as the Scent hit him. Deep within Shiro bellowed for another shot at the Maskbreaker, and externally Ichigo gave a draconic snort. "Yessss..."

Already his teeth were too long for Shinigami words, and he pulled towards the door, towards the outside, without letting go or looking to see if she followed. He knew she did, he could feel her holding his hand, but he was focused on his target. It was moving fast, into the Rukongai, like Hell itself was on his heels. This was the man who'd outpaced Gin; there was no way any of the Shinigami would be able to catch him at their speed.

Once out into open air, he glanced at his mother once, with a smirk to say 'watch this', then released his inner drake. The blast of reiatsu pummeled the Shinigami around them, and the ground vibrated with the thud of his forepaws as he landed in quadruped form. His tail lashed into a training dummy, splintering the reiatsu-infused wood like it was matchsticks, and bellowed the challenge.

Run, little hybrid, run! Red's coming for you!

Masaki laughed again, and laughed louder and longer when she felt the Prey register her reiatsu and dash even faster, like the rabbit hearing the wolf snap at it's heels, and it took her only a moment to leap into the air, up and up and up until she leapt over her son's shoulder spines and settled at the base of his neck.

"Come, my son! Your prey runs before you, and your mother's bow is with you! Go!"

Buildings cracked and roof tiles shattered as the great drake leapt to his mother's call. Nameless Shinigami below cowered in a mixture of fear and awe. This was Ichigo Kurosaki!? He bellowed again, tearing through the gate, and measuring to Jidanbo's waist where Masaki rode. The giant fumbled his grip, nearly dropping the heavy metal, as he gaped after them. But there was no time to gloat at the effect the King of the Sands had on the people around him.

Coming out into the wide streets of the Rukongai, Ichigo lowered his head to arrow through them faster than before. Aizen was in his sights.

If anything, the Prey managed to run even faster, but Masaki had not been speaking metaphorically when she said her bow was with her son: in a blade of blue light, she drew it, and rained upon their target a hail of a thousand arrows, forcing him to lose the speed he had just gained as he dodged them, frantic and hissing, all six wings humming to bat away sharp tips.

The same blazing arrows hindered Ichigo not at all, dissipating harmlessly at his approach.

As they galloped into hearing range, the drake bellowed again, in the language of Hollows, "MASKBREAKER!! YOUR MASK IS MINE!!"

That put the fear back into his pace, and he once again blazed ahead. Masaki drew back a thick blue shaft, her bow elongating as her muscles trembled. She hadn't LOST condition, but neither had she gained it, and this bolt required more power than she had had reason to keep typically.

This, when she let it fly,  _ screamed _ through the distance between them and their Prey.

And when it pinned him, it was directly through the shoulder, pinning him like any butterfly on corkboard. Like dominoes, the arrow hit him, the butterfly hit the ground, and the drake hit the butterfly, venomous fangs dripping a centimetre away from the side of Aizen's face. 

He growled, breath hot on his quarry's cheek, "You owe my Pack a lifedebt, Maskbreaker. We've come to claim it."

Despite the pain, and the eye squinted shut from the breath that blew over his face like a strong wind, Aizen looked up without expression. "Great. Though I'd suggest you ask your mother what she wants. She does claim rights to me first."

Masaki smiled at him and twirled her bow. "So you DO remember! What a shock it must be for you to realize I'm alive to collect!"

His voice was flat. "Hardly. I'm mostly trying to figure out how long you're going to torture me before I die. You always were more vindictive than anyone I ever tried to analyze."

Masaki leaned over her son's neck, bracing a foot on his shoulder so she didn't fall off. "Oh, I'm thinking eternity of bondage doesn't /quite/ make up for what you did to me, but considering how well my son turned out thanks to that virus I suppose I could knock that down to ten thousand years."

Ichigo flat out laughed, nicking the shell of Aizen's ear with a fang, "You're hilarious thinking we're going to let you  _ die _ ." 

Then he sat back, slowly enough that his mother could compensate, and further pinned the butterfly under a paw, his talons gripping the man's shoulders.

"But you have a point, she does have first right. However, by law of the Sands, that means anything she decides..." He grinned in mimicry of Shiro, "I can make worse."

Aizen sighed, and it was more a sigh of exhaustion than anything else, which made Masaki pout. "The hard part would be to outdo your mother," he told Ichigo, with the barest trace of amusement. "You could make the punishment worse… IF she leaves any room for worsening. When it comes to vengeance, your mother is an expert."

The drake turned to his mother, blinked, and shrugged--as best a draconic cat could anyway, "You are right to fear her. So I suppose I should make my request of her. My Pack demands recompense for the evils his ignorance heaped on them, I would fail as Leader if I wasn't able to get that back. Far be it for me to request leniency, but... his death won't soothe my Pack."

She patted his jaw, almost chirping. "Oh, you were quite right when you said he was being funny, thinking we might let him off the hook with a quick death. No... what I'VE got in mind is something that'll wear even HIM down over time. You were a good opponent," she addressed Aizen directly, "but I don't like cheaters. You have to pay for that, you know. I think I'll have you… serve it back to me directly. You'll be my fraccion."

He made a low, near-whine of sound, quickly cut off as he shut his eyes. "A waiting game I'm predestined to lose, in compensation? I thought you hated it when the opposition already had no way to win."

"This isn't our old game anymore; it's payback," she returned sharply. "IF I play any new games with you, you might get a chance to win, but you'll serve me because you're a cheating bastard and I'll have my pound of flesh out of you tenfold. And that's BEFORE I let the rest of the Pack take their pounds."

Ichigo snorted, "And here you thought I couldn't make things worse."

The shift of his shoulders gave Masaki all the warning she needed before he stood, the forepaw that held Aizen down pressing into his back.

Again he bent close enough to breathe across the butterfly's face, "What belongs to the Pack, belongs to  _ me _ ."

He eased up, only to come back down with both sets of talons, shredding the last of the bondage suit that had kept him in his chair, and without warning dragged his fangs down his back in a line of  six rents. They burned and healed instantly, of course, carving a reiatsu infused mark stretching from the nape of Aizen's neck to his ribs, over all four wing joints. Though the panels of the wings themselves remained intact and whole, the muscles that controlled them now rippled with scar tissue, hindering his speed. Oh he could still fly, after all death was not in the cards for his fate, but never again would he be able to outrun the Pack.

Masaki patted her son's neck, proud beyond words at the way he'd chosen to Mark the man, and leaned against his shoulder a moment more before taking her seat again and finally letting her bow--and the arrow in Aizen's shoulder--disappear.

Aizen couldn't quite summon the panic he knew he should be feeling, especially when the pain flashed and then retreated without lingering, leaving behind thick tissue that made the joints feel far stiffer and less supple. He could feel something like fear bubbling down where he was certain his will to survive was still hiding, but right now, he was much too tired. Breaking free of the Maggot's Nest had taken too much; even the fear that had driven him to run from Masaki had long petered out and taken the boost of adrenaline with it.

Instead he just flicked his wings, a little surprised that movement didn't actually hurt. It was stiff, and he'd probably never get too far off the ground again--in order to fly HIGH he needed to beat them hard and fast, and he doubted he could--but didn't actively hurt to use.

Again the drake gave a snort, as if to clear his nose of the scent, and scooped the butterfly up by the scruff of his neck--though mostly clothing rags and hair rather than skin--and turned to begin his march back to Seireitei. He still felt strongly that if the Shinigami wanted things to change, they would simply change it, and to prove that, he wasn't going to carry their prize back to Hueco Mundo until at least Toshiro, Renji, and Rangiku had gotten a good look at him.

Mentally, he debated speaking with Kyouraku. After all it had been his decision to put Aizen back in the place where he'd been instead of adjusting his punishment to include the work he'd done against Ywach and the Vandenreich. But, Shiro reasoned, it could send the wrong message, and the last thing anybody wanted this close to Mating Season was a new enemy. Better to just take their spoils and go home, which came accompanied by the memory of curling up with Grimmjow in their den and a distant waft of his scent.

Which made the drake purr externally again.

Aizen hung relatively docilely, though his wings buzzed occasionally to keep him from falling. It wasn't worth the fight, really. Even the most persistent planner had to know when it was time to give up.

Masaki on the other hand draped herself over her son's neck, and stroked it as he moved. "Going to teach your little friends a lesson on making necessary changes, dear?"

Unable to respond verbally for the risk of dropping their prey, he glanced back over his shoulder and gave her a wink.

The Rukongai flashed past them at top speed, though he was smooth as silk to his passengers, and those who had cringed and cowered when he came through the first time, now watched in awe as the great Aizen, Rogue Captain and Great Betrayer, dangled from his fangs like a mouse in the jaws of a housecat. Jidanbo stood in their path in front of the gate, still as confused as he had been the first time. Nearby Byakuya and Toshiro stood with their lieutenants, unamused.

So Ichigo pulled up short, rather than jumping the wall as he had originally intended. Then he gave a small tilt to his head, as if to ask what the problem was.

"I'd open the gate, if you please," Aizen addressed the guardian without a hint of remorse. "If he jumps the wall, it's going to jostle me quite a bit more than I think I'm in shape to be jostled. Either way, you won't keep him out."

Toshiro's hand was popping Hyourinmaru when Aizen's wings fluttered and clicked.

"I wouldn't do that, Toshiro. Kings don't like it when you maim their property."

The young Captain's hand tightened on the hilt, almost frozen. "What? Explain yourself!"

Comparatively, Ichigo really did set him down gently, but the foot in the middle of his back on those brand new scars was less than comfortable.

He spoke, explaining what had happened, how Aizen owed them, and by law of the Sands what he claimed he got to keep. That Aizen owed his mother because of the use of a parasite Hollow that was not part of the original bargain, and that because  _ she _ belonged to Ichigo, therefore Aizen belonged to Ichigo. He even gave a stunning retelling of the chase and the capture, because really he hadn't had that much fun since he and Starrk had tag-teamed the Beta to expand the den.

Unfortunately, none of the Shinigami understood the Hollow language--which was primarily made up of hissing and growls for a drake like him.

Byakuya's brow pinched, "Would you like to try that again with words, Kurosaki?"

Ichigo huffed, and looked pleadingly at Renji. Surely  _ he _ had understood something!? They'd been sparring partners for how long now!

"Um... somethin' 'bout 'ya keep what ya... kill?' or somethin'." The redhead frowned, scratching the back of his neck. "I think..."

Masaki and Aizen made identical slapping noises as hands hit faces.

"I'll explain," Masaki sighed, walking up the back of her son's neck until she perched between his horns, "but you won't get the in-depth explanation my son was so willing to give you. Aizen and I have been playing cat and mouse since he was barely out of the academy, but he cheated. He created a parasitic hollow "virus" that was outside the rules and used it, breaking the game and making me winner by default--and owed, by his trickery. He belongs to me, now, because I've claimed his service as my prize. As Ichigo's mother, I am of his Pack, and what belongs to his Pack belongs to him. In short: suck it, Shinigami, you lost, and Aizen is our prize."

"Crippled for life so I can never again be a threat to your Pack," Aizen chimed in helpfully, "though I could probably still turn Soul Society on its head in a heartbeat. After all, I'm too slow to outrun ICHIGO. That means I can still outfly most of you."

"That's enough helping out of you," Masaki said right at the same time Toshiro hissed "you wouldn't dare" and for a moment the elder Kurosaki seriously contemplated having Aizen illusion them right now just because he said she wouldn't DARE. She'd dare whatever she damn well pleased! 

Ultimately, she decided against it, only because she didn't feel like being delayed for long.

"Hrmph." Ichigo agreed, and nipped at Aizen in what could have been regarded as a playful fashion had his fangs not been as long as the butterfly's forearm.

Byakuya gave a long sigh. "I should think it best if we just let them leave. As senior captain, I will handle the Sotaicho. Renji, walk with them to the edge of the forest where the veil is thinnest."

The captain and lieutenant exchanged a glance that said everything and nothing, and Renji nodded, then jerked his head towards the path back away from the gates. Something was going on there, something they didn't want Toshiro or Rangiku to know about, but it rang loud and clear to Ichigo. He frowned, scooping Aizen back into his mouth, but deposited him on his shoulder instead of dangling him. Then he trotted the short distance between them and Renji, and fell into step beside him--though Renji only came up to his withers.

"Mrrr?"

"I have no clue, Ichi," the Quincy said with a shrug, before reaching over and scruffing Aizen by his hair. "What about you, butterfly?"

Aizen shrugged weakly, secure in her hold. "I just broke out of the Maggot's Nest twenty minutes ago. I have no clue what's been going on, they make a point of keeping news out of there."

Renji looked up at them as he trotted alongside, mouth pulled down into a frown.

"You... understand... words." Ichigo could only speak the Hollow tongue with his mouth shaped like that, but his message came through to Renji nonetheless."It grows... distracts you?"

Renji dropped his eyes, and his hands in his sleeves tightened. "...Yeah. I don't… I dunno how to… it ain't like it was wit' Zabimaru. S'a whole other beast. I..."

He couldn't seem to communicate with it, and yet, the advice he kept getting from Shinji didn't feel right either. It was part of him; why should he cut it off like a limb riddled with rot?

There was a note of accusation in the gold of the drake's glance, and he pronounced his next two words very carefully so that the whole word got across. "How. Long?"

He shook his head. "No' long. At least, since I started... changin'. Year, mebbe."

"Should. Come. Home." Still drawing out his words to enunciate fully, Ichigo pulled towards the edge of the forest. He could see the line between worlds easily, and he used his nose to point at it. "Starrrrrving..."

It struck him. "Like! yer mom!"

Of course, his Hollow was starving in the too-thin air of Seireitei, especially with the kind of reiatsu output he went through every day during training and his duties.

Masaki grinned. "Come, lieutenant. Who are you to refuse? Someone has to monitor Aizen, after all… come now, and make your excuses later," she suggested a bit more strongly, and that decided him.

"Yeah. Okay. I'll come."

Ichigo headbumped him, square in the chest, purring hard with his eyes closed. 

'Good' didn't even begin to describe the Pack Leader's approval of this plan. He hadn't been kidding when he told Ulquiorra he didn't want his Pack outside of his territory. That meant all of it. Anyone willing to come was Pack, anyone not willing to come... Well, he just hoped deep down at his core that he'd been right about who he chose as his allies long ago. That they would be willing to come and that they would be happy to be with him.

Because balancing four worlds just didn't work.

After he got a satisfied 'oof' and a laugh out of Renji, the drake forced open the natural garganta and herded him towards it.

"Hey, hey, I already said I'd go!" he protested, even as he let Ichigo herd him, Aizen and Masaki holding on tight as the path unfolded before them in order to let them out back on the sands.


	9. A Bad Dog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The drake rubbed the back of his neck, and took a breath. "Umm... well it sorta... I mean... there's what they could be and then there's what most are made to be... so... um..." He looked around for a moment, spied a stick and made a small 'ah' noise before pouncing it. "Sit. This needs diagrams to fully understand."
> 
> Or:
> 
> Fun with gender dynamics, explained!

Author’s Note: I told you I’d use it. You know who you are.

* * *

 

Once they hit the white, all three breathed deeper; easier. Oh, yes! They hadn't known what they were missing, had they? Oh, that was what they needed!

Ichigo hit the sands at a run, picking up speed as soon as his talons touched down, and he bugled! Loud and happy for his Pack. Wolf and smilodon met him ten paces in, answering his call and flanking him to protect his blind spots. Ggio ducked under Renji mid-stride and bounced him onto his back, only losing a fraction of speed that he then caught up when they crossed through an outcropping of rocks along the edge of the Menos Forest. The Vasto Lorde Plains spread out before them, silvery moon guiding their paws.

"ITSYGO!!" Nel crowed from Starrk's back, clapping her hands at how fast they were going.

The drake snorted at her, half greeting, half warning to keep a hold on the Segunda, lest she fall off and need to be fetched.

But above all their reiatsu _sang!_ This was what Hollow Packs were meant to look like. This was what Aizen had botched throwing them all into the same place without familial bonds. It was breathtaking in both power and beauty.

It made Aizen ache, now, to know this was what he'd tried and failed to create. The Hollow in him, weak and starved and hardly there, still sang back its muffled murmur, which he neither stifled nor voiced. He was not welcomed in this Pack; he belonged TO it, not WITH it.

Renji held on tight, laughing and whooping as reiatsu and power surged and whipped around them, drawing it in like air and feeling himself strengthen in ways he'd never known he was weak. He didn't join their cry, but only because he didn't know how. He would, soon, but not yet.

Masaki had no reservations: she threw back her head and _roared_ , dragon-song rising from deep within her core and echoing her son's, proclaiming her pride in her Pack and her offspring. Even Aizen she was proud of, because he belonged to her and he would make things right, sooner or later, under her watchful eye as long as they lived. She was vital; she was ALIVE since she had not been in decades, and she reveled in it!

Ichigo sang again, echoing out across the dunes and back, as they grew closer to the den. It took on a calling note, seeking his family.

The mantis yelled in answer, and the bull and the boar responded in kind. They were sparring as usual, but paused for their King. Barking and yipping announced when they crossed the border. The silver fox was atop the rock where Ichigo moon-bathed, and wagging his tail. Reiatsu from Szayel pinged the drake's senses, letting him know that while he wasn't actively being ignored, the scientist was nook-deep in some experiment or other which precluded him from actually greeting their Leader. It was fine; that was why his labs were dug all the way into the limestone after all.

Masaki greeted them back with a fleeting touch of reiatsu, as brief as a wing-flutter, delighted and still singing with pride. This Pack was hers now; and its Leader one she would follow through Hell.

Renji chittered a greeting to Gin as they passed; it was a sound he hadn't known he could make, and he was left blinking at himself as Ggio ran on beside their Leader.

Aizen remained silent on Ichigo's shoulder, making himself small. He'd wronged everyone here in one way or another, and whatever recompense they'd take over the coming years was sure to be less than pleasant. The less attention they paid him, the better.

It was almost on purpose, the way they _didn't_ pay attention to Aizen.

Gin _appeared_ in front of Ggio, draped over the smilodon's head with his tail wagging. He even forgot about the scarring on his arm for the moment as he smiled at Renji, "Knew ya'd come 'round again, Tora-kun~!"

Ichigo glanced at them both, gave Ggio a snicker, and bumped Starrk's shoulder in their approach. They parted ways at the den entrance, Ichigo giving Nel an affection scent-marking rub of his chin over her mask and hair.

"See you soon for dinner."

Then he bent to give his mother and Aizen an easier dismount.

To the butterfly he also rubbed his chin over his head. "Go shirtless. Other than that your level of comfort regarding clothing is your own, but I want your Mark on display where everyone can see that you are mine."

"Yes, Leader."

He managed not to topple completely over at the rub, mostly because Ichigo didn't want him to topple, and obediently stripped away the remains of his shirt. It wasn't like he didn't plan to go without it anyway; here, his wings might save his life at any given moment. Putting them away, underneath clothing, would be unwise. He floated to the ground after Masaki as she thumped to the sand, and settled beside her to fold his arms in the small of his back, just beneath his wings.

Masaki stretched, then shook herself all over and looked up at Ichigo, hands on her hips. "I know I'm not strong enough to help hunt yet, but when I'm not quite so starved, would you walk me through transformation? I _won't_ be a hinderance to this Pack."

"It's not hard. Though I might not be the best teacher." Ichigo gave an embarrassed smile, "I'm told I tend to just plow my way through and hope things work out."

"Son, if you think that's not how I managed to get my Quincy training, I have news for you about the absolute STUBBORNNESS of one Ishida Ryuken," she replied with a dry smile. "If it worked for you, I'll MAKE it work for me."

Aizen nodded from her shoulder. "There is very little that won't bend to a concentrated force of Masaki's will. Me included."

"Well..." Ichigo drew out the sound a little, "isn't that the natural order of things for Alphas?"

He blinked, and so did she. They looked at each other, then at him.

"You can tell? Though I am starved, and his is not even awake?"

"Of course," the drake scratched his chin with his hind talons, closing his eyes. "I've known since I kicked his ass when I was fifteen and didn't know the words for it. Now it's just even more obvious. Power trip, quick to anger, high reiatsu that burns out quickly, intent to kill anything that crosses him... The only reason Soul Society didn't catch onto his manipulation was a combination of his Zanpakuto and the fact that their Alphas are all mindblind. Their Betas are so caged they don't even know they're being caged. And don't get me started on the Delta-Gamma erasure. I thought sure Kisuke would have gotten _some_ kind of equal rights or something, but even while he was still a captain, Shin said that Deltas have _always_ been teased. Shit about being promiscuous and fickle, like that's a bad fucking thing. And Toshiro!" He rolled his eyes, "By the Sands I've never seen a more uptight Gamma."

Aizen's head tilted far, far to the left as he blinked, and Masaki smiled behind her hand at the look of avid, nearly _rabid_ curiosity that rose in his eyes. His need to _know_ things, especially things he deemed important to survival, had always been one of the traits she liked best about him. It made him a worthy rival, or it had, when he'd held to honor.

"I have heard the terms Alpha and Beta before… but Delta and Gamma are new and unknown to me. What are they, and how do they function within a pack?" He glanced at Masaki when she laughed at him, but he didn't let it stop him from insisting, "Masaki is your mother and as such will likely grow to be an advisor. As her fraccion, I need to be able to gather information for her, so I should learn these terms and what they mean."

Ichigo laughed, "Fine, fine, Chou. Gimme a sec."

Then he stood to all fours again and shook off. It kicked up dust as his reiatsu rose sharply, then dissipated in a woosh that blew their hair back and rattled the crystalline branches of the trees nearby. When they could see again, he stood in his humanoid form, though devoid of clothing, and slightly more draconic than he had for Soul Society. Smaller horns, hair to his waist, the long serpentine tail, talons on his toes though simply sharp nails on his fingers, and a glittering of pale almost scale-like impressions on the points of his body. He had his eyes closed for the moment, drawing a deep breath, and he spun out away from his starting point, leaving his mirror-duplicate standing where he had been. Then he exhaled and they both opened their eyes at the same moment.

Identical but in reverse, down to the curl of tail, Shiro was the first to grin. "Love it when ya leave 'em slack-jawed, King."

"Hush, Shii. Go find Him. Pride is no reason to ignore a Call when we make it." Ichigo gripped his hand and gave him a peck on the mouth before sending him off. "Now... where were we?"

Aizen simply smoothed his hair back from his forehead, as if to cover his surprise. "I was asking about Delta and Gamma, since I've never heard of them. And maybe once my Hollow is active I might need advice for building a relationship like you have with yours… but first things first."

Masaki watched Shiro go streaking across the sands with a grin. Somehow, she knew he went for someone special to her little boy--ohhh, he'd found his first Alpha! When they came in to rest after dinner, she was getting _every detail!_

"Right. Well... Delta is kinda both, and Gamma is basically neither." Glancing to the side, then back, Ichigo nodded. "Yeah."

"Do you mean in terms of power, reproductively, or when it comes to pack roles? Or-or all of those? And if Gamma is neither Alpha nor Beta, what do they _do_? I-I don't have the instinctive handle on this you do."

The drake rubbed the back of his neck, and took a breath. "Umm... well it sorta... I mean... there's what they _could be_ and then there's what most are _made_ to be... so... um..." He looked around for a moment, spied a stick and made a small 'ah' noise before pouncing it. "Sit. This needs diagrams to fully understand."

When they had suitably formed a small circle in the sand, Ichigo leaned forward on his knees, drawing a four-square chart in the middle. Each box was labeled with a Greek letter, and a few other symbols that meant 'protection', 'children', 'defense', and 'home'.

"Just a quick run down. Alphas are cub-sires. They have a fundamental limit to how much reiatsu they can have before they burn out entirely. Quick to anger, and even quicker to fight, but easily cowed by Betas they look to for both support and leadership. Betas are carriers, the egg-layers in some cases," here he blushed a sharp scarlet before moving on.

"In what we have of our history there is no limit to how large their reiatsu can grow. Currently, the strongest Beta tops out at five-hundred-kay. That's five hundred kilometers or so..." He coughed, blushing still. "They have to be the strongest because even in the wake of an entirely decimated Pack, the Betas can still carry on, protecting their cubs even to the point of their own death. Which is where Gammas come in. Gammas are the ones that can't sire or carry themselves. Usually due to their evolution though there have been cases of Deltas sterilizing themselves. Usually to stave off death. But Gammas adopt orphans, and draw fracciones together. They are quite protective, but slow to burn. I... actually haven't ever seen a Gamma lose their temper except in situations where someone they cared about was in danger."

Ichigo looked up to make sure they were following him so far, and blinked, head tilted slightly to the left.

"Interestingly enough, I've found that many tend to fall under the asexual spectrum, either some shade of ace or aromantic. Granted, Betas tend to be demisexual, really only interested in their chosen Alphas or Deltas, but... that's getting a little bit too... um, Human when we're talking about Hollows."

"Betas can have any sexuality, we're more than just our gender, and it helps to get the idea across. Aizen is more familiar with human sexualities than he is Shinigami ones, it helps him relate," Masaki assured him, while Aizen studied the diagram like he was preparing for a test.

"I only know that much about human sexualities because of that college class you convinced me to take. You said it would help me stay undercover, if I recall?"

"And nobody knew you were actually a dead man," Masaki said breezily. "AND you got some education into the bargain."

Aizen snorted. "So you said Toshiro was a Gamma? I can confirm he possesses the traits you've described; especially how deep and unyielding his ire when it is finally provoked from frozen slumber. His rage burns hot even now, threatening his bond with Hyourinmaru when it nearly gets the better of him. The pair of them have wrestled many times when he came to Maggot's Nest to see if he could kill me and get away with it."

"To be fair," Ichigo gave him a condescending look, "you did manipulate most of the Shinigami into stabbing his sister so..."

He raised his eyes to Ichigo's. "I will be honest with you. Hinamori Momo is possibly one of the most dangerous women I have ever encountered. She bordered on psychotic in just such a way that I could have taken her to be a hidden genius like me… except her stability was dependent on an outside source, me, rather than any inner strength. I wanted her dead, and I still want her dead, because--" His eyes dropped and he swallowed, "because she _scares_ me. Something nameless and uncontrollable sleeps in her. I sought to destroy it, and her, before she could loose it on me."

"A Beta in a tailspin is a dangerous thing."

Something passed between them in that moment, some commonality. Ichigo both knew how Hinamori felt, and Aizen as well. He sat in the center of someone's obsession. And yet, he, too, had been pushed, forced into a corner by the weight of responsibility forced on him. He had seen in himself the temptation to give in to the nearly-boundless wellspring of power he accessed, and use it. To force things to work in his favor. To throw it around like a warhammer, Hell bent on destroying everything around him.

Even now, there was a flicker of that danger in the shadow of his right eye.

It was kept in check by the love and support around him, by the freedom he found among people who cared about something other than finding the next big weapon of mass destruction. People who didn't view the world as potential enemies, while still being very much aware of the dangers around them. Any number of small changes in how things had fallen into place, and Ichigo knew well how easily it would be for him to increase that danger.

"Yes. And there's no way to fix her mind; I asked Unohana many times if there was any way known to heal her. Perhaps you would know, but the Shinigami do not. I was not content to sit and wait for the bomb to go off and hope she died in battle on some front line, far away from Soul Society. And neither was I ready to let her devour me in her desire to possess." Aizen shivered, then shook himself wings to toes. "But that is the past. We have covered Gamma, if they are non-reproductive adopters and tenders of cubs, then what role do Delta's play?"

"Right." Ichigo cleared his throat, giving himself a shake, as if to dispel lingering bad memories, and drew a small circle around the 'home' symbol in his diagram. "Where Alphas lead the hunt, Betas lead the Pack, and Gammas are the fall back; Deltas are the cornerstones to a healthy Pack-den.  Deltas possess many of the same short-tempered violent traits that Alphas do, but they are also almost as protective as Betas. They stand as the last line of defense between danger and their Pack, particularly the cubs. They can both sire or carry, though most lean towards one or the other. But in short, if you've ever looked at an Alpha and thought they were too patient, or a Beta and questioned their position in the Pack, you were likely looking at a Delta. Unlike Gammas who stand out clearly as different, Deltas can masquerade as Alpha or Beta if they need to. Many of the Betas in Soul Society are actually Deltas."

Aizen looked at the symbol, and only one name came to mind. "Unohana. If anyone I've ever met is a born Delta, it's she. Are they all as terrifying as her?"

His wings buzzed, once, and without thinking Masaki reached over and stroked down a line between them, following one of the scars newly-given.

"She's not actually. Though I can see how someone without a developed sense of smell would think that." Ichigo smiled indulgently, "I said Betas. Not Alphas. It's easier to be a bloodthirsty Beta than a cool-tempered Alpha."

His own nose wrinkled. "I can smell, but I can't make sense of all the things I smell. It's been getting steadily stronger since we crossed to Hueco Mundo. I practically need _caterpillar_ training to learn to distinguish different scents and what they means, different reiatsu messages and what they convey. I don't think my Hollow will be able to tell me. I don't know if it'll even be whole. The hogyoku… it did more than give me power. The price was so deep I don't know if I'm even done paying."

"Probably not, considering who invented it." The Pack Leader gave a small nod, tapping his stick on the Delta quadrant, "You want a good example of a Delta, he's it. Ruthless and bloodthirsty with a patience long enough to wait even you out. He plays the Alphas of Soul Society like a well-tuned fiddle, and has some of the strongest Betas I've trained with running to his beck and call. It's inspiring a little bit. Terrifying. But inspiring nonetheless." He let himself stare off into the distance, one ear tilted slightly away from the two of them, "My frustration began and ended with his control of someone, since that has changed, I'm more forgiving."

"I doubt he will be," the butterfly sighed, sitting back on his heels and stretching his wings slowly. "But I'm glad you are. I'm well aware you could have taken much more than a little speed in the marking." He shook out his hair, growling a bit at it when it got in his way, tangling around his ankles. "Is there anything else about Deltas and Gammas and how they work in the pack? Do Deltas only fill in the necessary gaps, or do they have another function of their own?"

"He has no authority or power here. None of them do. None of them will." Ichigo growled, and gave a snort, sitting back on his heels with his tail ticking in irritation. "Functionality wise everybody works with everybody else. What you saw? What you tried? That was not a Hollow Pack. That was a bunch of random gendered Hollows thrown into captivity and forced to get along. You're lucky Nel was your only significant casualty, and don't even ASK me about my opinions on Wonderweiss."

"Yes, well, that's why stupid Shinigami are not allowed to run things."

"Especially stupid Alpha Shinigami," Masaki agreed as she, planting herself behind Aizen, started finger-combing his hair and, once it was relatively untangled, to deftly braid it.

"That, yes. As for Wonderweiss, it might be better to leave thoughts of him alone. He seemed perfectly fine, when he formed. I still don't know what went wrong. But there's no changing that now--OW, Masaki," his head craned backwards when she tugged on it again, working with a stubborn knot.

"There's no changing it, so don't even bring it up," she scolded him, even as her grip gentled and her plaiting resumed.

"Just suffice to say you are lucky. With every mask you broke, you opened your den to new danger. I'm only thankful that most of them managed to survive it. Really, that many Alphas in a single Pack-den?! Without enough receptive Deltas?! And to replace the broken Beta one of your out of control Alphas maimed, _you replace her with a Gamma!?_ She is as strong as she is because most traditional packs don't accept them from outside. Gammas born of the pack are one thing, Gammas born of someone else's pack are suspect. Many accuse them of destroying their own packs from within. They are stereotyped to be jealous of Betas, and are thus, wary of them."

Aizen frowned, even as Masaki used a string of reiatsu to tie the braid off at the end. "That… that's--Gammas are the NOT breeders, they have no reason to be jealous of the Beta. Deltas, I can understand being suspect from outside the pack, but Gammas? That doesn't make _sense_ ," he scratched his head, wincing a bit when a finger skidded over a sore spot, near his temple. He shook his head. "I was lucky, very lucky, especially for a Shinigami who neither knew what Pack was or could tell Alpha from Beta."

"Gammas aren't _not_ breeders. You weren't listening. They _can't_ breed. As in don't have the ability to do so." Ichigo deadpanned. "In a society. Where survival. Is the most important aspect. If you can't breed, your Pack will die. Your species will die."

"Not if your Pack has viable breeders, then they need guards who can't be tempted BY the breeders, don't they? If a Gamma CAN'T reproduce, and most of them don't want to even have sex, what would make them want anything in the world other than a pack that already has breeders enough, but needs more protection for the caterpillars? The Pack would continue then, and I know more than most there are always more Hollows of your own kind out there. I'm hardly the only butterfly; there are hundreds more, and many of them breeders, I'm certain." He scratched the other side, and hissed when his nail caught on something in his hair.

He frowned at his hand; were his nails… longer?

"Right. Because asexuality and aromanticism are the same thing. Because not being able to have cubs means not wanting to. And because every Hollow who's ever lived has to be as meticulous and 'logical' as Qio." The air quotes were audible, and the drake raised an eyebrow. Then shook his head, "It’s not something you can think away. It's prejudice. It doesn't make logical sense. And really, your insinuation that the 'viable breeders' need guards is almost more insulting than I can stomach. You just agreed, not five minutes ago, that Betas are the scariest of our genders, and yet here you are now implying that we can't take care of ourselves when we're carrying. There is a _reason_ Betas lead the Pack and it has _nothing_ to do with being a viable breeder."

His reiatsu began to rise, stirring the sand around them, and just barely softer than the growl he was trying desperately to control. Aizen didn't know any better, that was the whole point behind why the Espada hadn't worked as a Pack, and yet, here he was trying to apply Shinigami logic to a family group that had none of that. Ichigo couldn't help it. It grated on his very hide that he would _ever_ need someone to guard him, or rather guard for him, and he hadn't even fully decided on whether he _wanted_ to carry cubs. His tail lashed, and almost instantly Ggio and Gin appeared nearby.

"Mahhh, looks ta me like there's schoolin' goin' on, ne, Gigi?" The silver fox smiled, ears flicking forward and then back again.

The smilodon gave a lick to one of the fangs protruding over his lip, "I'd say so." He nuzzled Ichigo's shoulder, and gave an inquisitive, "Mrrp?"

Breathing deeply, the Pack Leader regained his control, his temper, and, eyes closed, he ran his cheek first along Ggio's and then Gin's.

"Just an explanation that isn't making sense to one who doesn't hear what we hear or know what we know." Blinking back at Aizen, he gave an apologetic smile, "Think of how divided it is in Soul Society. How the Shinigami arbitrarily decide which spirits are worth training and which should be left to starve in the streets. The Sands are a reflection of the health of the other worlds. Even without outsiders meddling in the hierarchy, we have Betas who turn their own cubs out into the cold night, Alphas who far exceed the level of dedication and power typical of their gender, and Deltas who want nothing to do with breeding or pack behaviors or anything. Is it so strange to think that there are those among us that would hold against someone their inability to procreate? Especially when Hollows outside the Pack are distrusted from the beginning for fear of betrayal or consumption. Life here is hard, painful. It often leads to death even when you do everything right. But..."

He turned to nuzzle into Gin's fur, a hand rubbing the ruff behind Ggio's ear.

"We make do. We make families. And we love." The iris of his right eye flashed gold for a heartbeat, even as the left remained milky white entirely.

Aizen sighed, leaning back until he could fold his legs under him. "Yes. You're quite right. I suppose I just wish it was better here. I wanted to destroy all of Soul Society for a reason… sit on the throne for a reason. I hardly need a throne to make me content or even happy. But I'm sick of all the power being in particular hands. So very, very sick and tired of it. At least out here, nothing is quite as set in stone as in Seireitei. Yes, you're Primera, you're the most powerful, you're King... but one day one of your children may very well be stronger. It's not so _stagnant_. I'm still sick from too much rotten water."

He suddenly laughed, a soft, huffing sound that made Masaki's hands tighten on his shoulders.

"Sick enough I thought one person alone could not only steal all the power, but wield it and rebuild it all from the ground up. That's mad-thinking. Creating the virus, that was madder still."

Masaki frowned, resting her chin on Aizen's shoulder. "If you recognize it as madness, what brings about the clarity?"

He shrugged. "Kurosaki, probably. His reiatsu is so strong, it purifies the reiatsu of those around him."

Ichigo blushed from nose to ears, and ducked, "I... I... I don't know about... I mean... I just... tell it like it is? Um... I'm really not. Out to prove anything, or change anything, or make anything better. I just want to protect my family."

 Gin snickered, nipping one of the drake's ears with happy bark, and Ggio laid down at his back with a solid steady purr to support him.

Aizen chuckled again. "Yes. And that's what makes you so… healing to others. Your drive to protect chases away insanity, and your honesty grounds people. You make things better because you want your family safe, and you're willing to put in whatever work is required to make it so. You shouldn't underestimate what simple, concentrated will to _do_ can make happen.”

Ichigo coughed into his hand, leaning on Ggio. "Anyway. Do you understand the other genders better? At least enough to get what we mean when we talk about someone as a Delta or a Gamma? Or even Alpha and Beta. I know divorcing yourself from the idea that 'he' equals Alpha and 'she' equals Beta can be hard to wrap your mind around. At least for some people."

"Yes, I think I understand a bit better. More intimate understanding will come with time and experience, not study." Aizen stretched, slowly so Masaki had time to move away from his wings, and she set up into a long cat-stretch herself, rumbling a happy growl.

"Yes." Sensing a tug from his twin, the drake rolled back up to his feet and stretched all the way out to his tail. "Now, I've something I have to look into. I don't think I need to tell you to keep out of trouble, but also, I'm pretty sure Mom will ensure it anyway."

"Your mother keeps me better in hand than all Soul Society, young man," he assured, before Masaki promptly pinned him to the floor to be her pillow. This conveniently shut him up with a mouthful of sand.

Ichigo gave Gin a shoulder-bump to distract him from his hyperfocus, and the fox turned to kiss him in response. Ggio followed suit, keeping an eye on Aizen as they left, but didn't follow either Beta into the den. Gin needed some time to process being so close to Aizen again, and Ichigo... had a panther to find...

Having successfully brought down the buffalo-based Hollow he'd been stalking when Ichigo arrived home, Grimmjow dragged it steadily homeward. Even with Shiro here, it was slow going. He had, after all, been hunting big to feed everyone.

The drake-shape Ichigo took without his twin was half the size as before, but it still covered the distance from one of the back entrances towards where his--well, Grimmjow was coming in. One look at their prey and he understood. He still didn't like it, he'd been out hunting while he was away, but he knew that to have answered when he'd Called, Grimm would have spooked the beast. So to show that he wasn't _exactly_ mad, he joined them in dragging the carcass back to the den.

Grimmjow purred at him through his mouthful of fur, promising a proper greeting when it was safely in their den to be dinner. He had, after all, missed his mate, and had only left to hunt to keep himself from doing something stupid. Like chasing after him to Soul Society.

Ichigo gave a muffled 'chrr' in response.

With his added strength and coordination, bringing the buffalo to the shelf of stone they used for eating was easy. Easy enough in fact that Nel was already chewing on a leg by the time Ichigo set his portion down. He gave a sharp cry, stepping back to let the others get their fill. If need be he'd hunt something himself later.

Grimmjow plopped down next to him as the others set on the meal, rubbing his cheeks and chin on his mate to scentmark him, rubbing shoulders and purring thunderously. Even Aizen got a share; pressed on him by Masaki, since she'd noticed him starting to droop and fold his wings as his exhaustion caught up to him. Grimmjow watched him with one eye, but said nothing as he greeted his mate.

The Pack Leader watched for a while, enjoying the way Shiro fit right in with the others, and how he bickered playfully with both Nnoitra and Gin but indulgently let Nel sit on his lap. Returning the nuzzle, Ichigo stood. He glanced over his shoulder at Grimmjow before trotting off around the corner to enter the den. His tail flicked under the panther's nose before he left the stone, an enticing tease.

Purr deepening, Grimmjow left the group to follow, his own tail swinging side to side as he stalked around the corner, licking his lips.

Masaki glanced at the retreating pair once, smiled to herself, and resumed chivvying Aizen into a corner so they could curl up here amid the safety of the rest of the Pack. Now that he was fed he was practically sleep on his feet, and she had to keep poking him back awake enough to move.


	10. I Told You To Get Off My Damn Bed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nel snored with her mouth open, completely at peace and relaxed, confident that her parents, adopted or otherwise, would see to her safety. And really anything that tried to hurt her would have to be stupid indeed to invade the main den that far, risking the wrath of both Leaders and their chosen Alpha.
> 
> To that end, it took Ichigo a few moments to realize why he'd woken. Starrk was growling. Someone stood in the doorway to their den. Someone stupid.
> 
> Ichigo blinked a few times, clearing the sleep from his vision, then bared his teeth. "You again! Get out!"

Once within the relative privacy of the den, Ichigo pounced him, rolled them both over twice to the middle of the common room floor, onto the plush fur rug, and into their humanoid forms. Then, straddling his hips, he kissed him. His hands found their way into Grimm's hair, and he purred hard enough to vibrate all the way through him. Grimmjow's purr rose in response as he kissed back, tail lashing excitedly as his armor melted away, unneeded. His hands roamed down Ichigo's back, scratching down through his thick locks to reach his spine and then teasing his claws around it, tracing each knob of his spine with tingling sensation.

"Mmmm. Missed you." Ichi hummed, nipping at his jaw, particularly where the fragment of mask covered it.

His eyes fluttered at the sensation of teeth against his skin, and he pressed his body closer to Ichigo's. Hard to do from underneath, but more than worth it. "Missed you too. Fuck, ya weren't even gone long. Wanted t'follow you."

"I know. Heard you from there."

The drake spread his legs, rolling into him with a shiver. He followed the line of blue-green fur from edge of jaw to swept up ear, dragging his own along it, with its rough corner and potent scent gland. This put his neck within biting range, and he felt his tail hike to the side. Already his body was tuned into Grimmjow, excited for him with just a thought.

He bit down at the open invitation, marking him anew, as his own tail curled with Ichigo's longer one as his claws dug in once reaching Ichigo's ass.

"Waited. Listened fer ya. Was so happy when y'came back an' Called." He bit down again, harder.

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmm~!" Ichigo was right next to his ear, moaning and panting. His talons dug into Grimm's strong shoulders, his nook slick and his dick was hard between them. "Ah... M-mark me? Please?"

The panther rumbled. "Mmmmnnn, not th'Matin' mark. Can't do tha' 'til yer heat....unless yer a'ready in it?"

He was licking the spot, though, because while it might not be permanent he could definitely give him a Mark. He kept kneading with his hands, though.

"I'unno." Ichigo curled into him, sliding his hands up into Grimm's hair, and rolling his hips for friction. "How d'I know?"

Grimmjow bucked into those rolls, sucking on his skin. "Ya get hot… needy… hungry... can't think o' anythin' but gettin' mated, can't stand anyone 'round but yer Alpha...."

"D-dunno. Just... want you. My Alpha~" Ichigo's nook kissed the bulge of Grimm's dick every time they came together, leaving sticky lubrication behind.

"Mmmm, want you too. My Beta." He nuzzled his neck and bit, again, this time until he tasted blood. He ground into his nook, teasing, because he loved watching Ichigo squirm.

"Ha!" The drake gasped, shivering hard enough that he nearly seated himself in a single thrust. His veins _sang_ with the invasion of Grimmjow's reiatsu, latent as the touch was.

Grimm purred back to him, angling his hips so they met, and sliding into Ichigo's nook long and slow, keeping his teeth right where they were as his reiatsu surged in response. Sure, it wouldn't go anywhere right now, but that was no reason to stop.

Ichigo's reiatsu welcomed his as warmly as his body opened for his dick. The moan he made warbled _almost_ on the right frequency for the mating ceremony itself. He clung tightly to his Alpha, meeting him thrust for thrust, and dripped his arousal between them, making everything slick and hot.

Grimmjow's moan echoed back at him, just almost a mating song but not quite right, and on the same not-right frequency no less! He started to thrust, aided by the slick and spurred on by the scent of his mate, holding Ichigo by the hips and the hold on his throat as he started to find a quick, hard rhythm.

Panting, his reiatsu rose instinctively. It wouldn't do any good towards the Mating Bond, but it did something. It had _been doing_ something every time they had sex. Earlier and earlier in the joining Ichigo was able to prompt Grimmjow to meshing with him, creating a seamless aura around them both and dyeing the sky of the drake's inner world the color of the panther's eyes. It brought the scent of green things, mint, and a winter breeze to the sideways city. And every time, the connection grew stronger.

"I... I... I..." Ichigo didn't know what he was trying to say exactly, but his body encouraged their pace, begging for more.

"Yeah," he finally released his throat, leaning back to get deeper as he pushed up off the ground, to get more leverage, and he growled in pleasure as their reiatsu mingled and rose, harmonizing and syncing. "Yeah, Ichi, like that, c'mon, mate, c'mon." His voice had lowered to a rumbling growl. "Show me what'cha like, strong Beta, take all I got t'give ya."

"MMph~!" He dug his toes into the sand, pulling Grimmjow's hair to capture his mouth, blood and all, and his tail whipped out behind him as he drove the pace faster. His tongue forced its way between his Alpha's teeth, drawing the reiatsu from his fangs. Yes! Higher! That walls of the cavern groaned around them with the pressure. This angle had Grimmjow's barbs grinding against. The. Perfect. Spot.

Grimm kissed him back, growling and snarling low in his throat, as he dug in his claws and his paws and thrust harder, letting his reiatsu push forward and mingle and drawing Ichigo's into his own, hammering at that angle that had Ichigo arching like he was already in heat, covered lightly in sweat as he worked to satisfy his lover.

"Mm! Mm! Mm!" The drake squeaked into the kiss, not willing to move but for the steady build-up between them. His insides clenched and shivered, the edge of orgasm right there! With more than a little desperation, he wriggled his hand between them to rub his finger over the very tip of his dick, teasing the urethra with his talon just hard enough to avoid hurting himself. When the claw slipped inside, he broke the kiss with a harsh cry, clamping down on Grimm as he drove himself over the edge.

The bookshelf across the room cracked in half. Like two tectonic plates, one side slid up and the other down at a sharp angle that shifted all of the books on it in two directions. And cum pulsed up out around the claw he was using to sound himself with while his reiatsu roared higher than it ever had during sex. It was hot and sweet, cloyingly so.

Grimmjow leaned up and bit the side of his neck again, his own reiatsu surging to meet his mate as the clamping, and the sight of his Beta in pleasure, brought his own orgasm screaming through him, making him almost _burn_ with the pleasure. His hands on Ichi's hips pulled hard, seating himself as deep as he could get, and he growled as the aftershocks started to die. He then fell flat on his back, panting and licking the blood off his teeth, and watched Ichigo, eyes half-lidded and smiling with content pride.

Eyes still blown dark from the depth of his afterglow, Ichigo purred and melted onto his Alpha's chest, tail ticking slowly above his head. Still joined for the moment, he was a puddle of content Beta.  He even burbled a little; tiny noises somewhere between chirping and mewling. His purr was a steady undertone, thrumming through them both to the rhythm of his slowing breath. And that scent! It was so close. He didn't even realize how close he was, all he knew was that Grimm made him feel gooooooood~!

Grimmjow nosed his hair, and grinned at the scent. Soon, their energies would be fully synced, and then it was only a matter of time. He was perfectly patient; as he purred back, he was content knowing he was definitely in Ichigo's top three pick of Alphas. He 'chattered' back in response to the burbling, reassuring him he was there and not leaving, little sounds made in the back of his throat, and petted his back as he let his eyes close.

Sometime between 'happy, good, yes' and the next time Ichigo knew anything, Shiro and Nel had joined them. The leucistic twin nudged him far enough over that he could tuck his own face against Grimmjow's neck, and the cub sprawled in the middle, a leg and an arm on each with her back lined up with her sire's breastbone. She snored with her mouth open, completely at peace and relaxed, confident that her parents, adopted or otherwise, would see to her safety. And really anything that tried to hurt her would have to be stupid indeed to invade the main den that far, risking the wrath of both Leaders and their chosen Alpha.

To that end, it took Ichigo a few moments to realize why he'd woken. Starrk was growling. Someone stood in the doorway to their den. Someone stupid.

Ichigo blinked a few times, clearing the sleep from his vision, then bared his teeth, "You again! Get out!"

"Out? Well, I'm happy to see you too, Kurosaki." The one-eyed Arrancar smiled dangerously, still dressed in the all white pseudo-Quincy uniform he'd worn the first time. He even still carried the five-pointed Zeichen around his wrist.

"Ebern." In a tumble of limbs and cub, the drake was on his feet, tail lashing. "I thought Ywach killed you."

"You should know better than most our Lord doesn't leave the dead for long." Azugiaro fluttered his eyelashes like he was flirting.

It only made Ichigo growl more.

Grimmjow stayed back, nose twitching and narrowing his eyes as he tucked his cub, gone quiet and still, beneath him, tail ticking slowly back and forth.

That was a Beta in the doorway. A _rival_ Beta.

Even as his armor rippled into place, he didn't move to interfere, only herded his cub further out of the line of fire. No Alpha with half a brain got between the Lead Beta and a challenger.

In the peripheral, the rest of the Pack was drawing closer, such that when Ichigo stepped forward, his mother and her butterfly had poked their noses around the rear tunnel arch.

The drake growled a warning, "Ywach was no lord, of mine or otherwise."

"No, I suppose not to you. But to her..." Azugiaro pointed the hand with the cross on it at Masaki, "She should be happy you came out on top."

"You leave her out of this! Why are you here?" Ichigo stepped into his line of sight, blocking his mother more than his mate and cub.

Shiro hissed, rising to join his King should he need it.

The rival Beta merely lifted his nose, "Simple. You don't deserve what you have. You're a mongrel, half-breed, Human-tainted, Shinigami! And that Alpha... is mine."

"LIKE HELL!"

Launching himself over the distance, Ichigo's talons punctured Azugiaro's hierro with ease, but it tumbled them both out of the den onto the open sands. Kicking with his feet, he attempted to shred the rival's stomach, only to meet armor plating that struck sparks with every talon. Reptilian, but not another drake, Azugiaro responded by pulling the long umber mane Ichigo sported, specifically at the base of his skull to keep those vicious fangs away from his neck and face.

"You. Have. No. Honor!" He hissed, flaring the Quincy trinket in a bid to burn flesh with the concentrated reishi.

Ichigo squirmed, flinging him into a petrified tree with a shower of splinters. "You! What right have YOU to claim MY Alpha! You, who denied even being Hollow! You are NOTHING!"

Growling, Masaki followed, but Aizen stayed at her side with one hand over her bow arm. They both knew she couldn't interfere, not with this, but it didn't hurt to make sure she was reminded. Grimmjow gave Nel to Starrk, with the understanding that the segundo would keep her safe while the Alpha watched his mate trounce the fuck outta the challenger.

He settled up on the moonbathing platform, his tail swinging behind him and flicking back and forth as he watched the fight, crouched low to the rock. This was one of those Quincy bastards, eh? And he'd even denied he was a Hollow, only to come slinking around looking for a good Arrancar Alpha? Tch! Ichigo was right, he deserved no Alpha!

When Azugiaro got a good shot on Ichigo--an elbow under the chin that snapped his teeth shut on his lip--Shiro dove for the edge of the stones, only to find himself pinned down by a combination of Ggio, Gin, and Tesla.

"They have to." The boar hissed softly.

Ggio groomed his hair back, "If he can't do it without you, he can't do it at all."

Gin, who was sitting cross-legged on Shiro's back, nodded sagely, eyes closed, "Two ag'inst one ain't a fair fight. An' yer evolved enough to know better, Shii-kun."

"Don't mean I like't." The white drake growled, tail lashing, but he didn't try to get up again. Even when Ichigo's back met stone with a nasty crunch.

The Leader roared his pain, launching off of the Mask Wall with enough force to rattle the embedded trophies, and he drove his shoulder into those armor plates that had defied his talons earlier. There had to be a soft spot on the bastard somewhere, and he was determined to find it. Even if it meant impaling them both on a shattered tree stump. Their reiatsu rose, spread the scent of them over the area, and bringing a hot wind tearing through the den. It tugged on the Alphas' noses, drawing even Nnoitra and Renji from the depths of the sparring maze just in time to see the two Betas tumble across the entrance like feral cats, yowling and hissing as they scratched and bit at each other.

Grimmjow stalked around the edge of the platform, eyes slits and his tail thrashing, following their fight. He hadn't seen Ichigo fight in a long time, and honestly? This was pretty hot. Because he knew his mate would pull out some Kurosaki Magic or whatever the fuck it was and win. It just needed a bit more time.

Masaki leaned on her butterfly, muttering under her breath, while Starrk retreated deeper into the den with the cubs, away from the intruding Beta. It was a hundred to one chance he might win, but he wasn't taking any chances. Not with the cubs of his Pack.

Renji watched with rapt attention; he wasn't sure why Grimmjow was up there like a judge of the fight when the winner would be quite clear, but it was worth watching. VERY worth watching, because Ichigo going all-out on an asshole (even if he'd never seen this particular asshole before) was incredibly hot. Why was it this hot?

Nnoitra grinned wider when he glanced at Renji, and elbowed Yylforte to get his attention on the budding Hollow. Then he leaned in, "S'fuckin' sexy as shit ta see 'em whup ass." He growled suggestively, "Ain't much better'n watchin' a couple'a bitches tearin' each other apart."

"Except fighting them yourself." Yylforte commented with assumed boredom.

The buffalo was just as hooked as the other possible sires for all that he was a Delta, not an Alpha, but he knew better than to drool over the Lead Beta. If he was able to mate Tesla he'd be happy. Fraccion first and foremost, he deferred to Grimmjow's preference, and Delta meant he wouldn't be Ichigo's first pick anyway. That didn't mean it wasn't fun to watch though. He allowed himself an appreciative exhale as the combined power between them sent sand showering away from them both.

They stood at opposite sides of the den entrance, Azugiaro's clothes in tatters and Ichigo bleeding from several places. The ginger spat blood from his mouth and bared his teeth, weighing in with his reiatsu again, but all the false Quincy did was respond in kind. The ground between them shook, and tension mounted with the increase in pressure. Ichigo was wild-eyed, feral to his core, and Azugiaro kept taking advantage of his blind side to trip him up.

"Give it up, Kurosaki. You can't win without your _twin_ ," he used the word as an insult, "and calling on him right now would be admitting defeat. You never had a chance, and deep down you know it. You've always known it. You can't even call--"

"Ban. KAI!"

"What?!"

Ichigo exploded from his spot, faster than most of the Pack could see, and this time the plating over Azugiaro's throat split right across the middle. Splinters flew away from Ichigo's grip, and he hissed in the other Beta's face.

"At least against Aizen I wasn't bored."

The butterfly preened at that, because that WAS a compliment and a very high one indeed thank you, and Masaki resisted the urge to laugh at him, instead patting his hand on her arm.

Renji swallowed thickly, unable to tear his eyes away even as Ichigo was literally choking his opponent to death. "You ain't fuckin' kiddin'," he hissed softly, and tried not to squirm in place. That was so sexy it wasn't even fair!

Grimmjow perched on the edge of the rock, excitedly waving his tail. When Ichigo won, for of course he would win, Grimmjow fully intended to give him a well-earned prize for his victory!

Azugiaro began to laugh, stepping forward, one foot at a time. "You pitiful. Sorry. Excuse. For a Hollow. Blind idiot." He was wheezing, which meant Ichigo really was choking him, but somehow he kept talking anyway. "Rushing right in. Like a dumb. Raging. Alpha."

That gave Ichigo pause, and he winced back, for all that he didn't let go. His reiatsu whipped behind him, waving tail and hair in the same wind.

"Look." Azugiaro croaked, holding out his hand.

A tiny metal cylinder glinted in the moonlight, glowing faintly blue from within. Ichigo's eyes darted to the sand, growing wider as he took in the five points around him. No! Deep within the den, Szayel shot up out of his chair, knowing it was too late, but unable to sit there knowing what was coming without doing something. Connection made, Ichigo redoubled his efforts to push the false Quincy back, to cross the line, to get out of the pentagram. But something about it, some force of the lines themselves, held them in place. All he could do was watch as the concentrated reishi...

Slowly...

Dripped...

Down.

Contact and the sigil exploded in a shower of dust, blood, and mask fragments. The clouds blew out, obscuring the Pack's view of the fight, forcing those closest to the scene to cover their faces against injury, coughing and blinking tears from their eyes. The desert was deathly quiet, not even the rumble of reiatsu struck their senses. The first sound was of Nel crying, distant and unconsolable. Then footsteps softly crunched the broken crystals and bone littering the battlefield.


	11. Victory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Could their Leader, who had brought the Pack together so firmly and so fast, really be gone? This easily?
> 
> Azugiaro stepped closer to Grimmjow, not stupid enough to chance getting within striking range, but forcing a confrontation nonetheless. "You know the rules, Alpha. I challenged, he lost. Your Pack is mine. Is this any way to greet your new leader?"

Slowly a figure emerged from the clouds, and he looked entirely too smug. "Well, well, well, it seems victory is mine." Azugiaro practically purred, giving Grimmjow a coy smile, "Come now, give a little kiss for your Primera?"

Grimmjow's eyes narrowed to deadly slits and his ears slicked back as his humanoid form released all at once, leaving only the well-armored panther in its place, hackles raised and teeth fully exposed. He didn't use words; couldn't use words, not right now.

From the exposed tunnel Starrk's protective snarling came, while Masaki pressed both hands to her mouth and Aizen wrapped himself around her shoulders, wings and all, and even Renji flattened himself to the sand.

Surely Ichigo couldn't be taken out so easily. Surely he couldn't be dead and gone!

But from the way Shiro was writhing, howling, from where he was pinned by Gin, Ggio, and Tesla, he just as surely was not all right.

Could their Leader, who had brought the Pack together so firmly and so fast, really be gone? This easily?

Azugiaro stepped closer, not stupid enough to chance getting within striking range, but forcing a confrontation nonetheless, "You know the rules, Alpha. I challenged, he lost. Your Pack is mine. Is this any way to greet your new leader?"

"Fuck off!" Nnoitra snarled, the scar over his eye pulsing hotly. "Ya ain't earned it!"

Similar sentiments echoed from the others, as though the mantid's words broke the floodgate on their outrage. How  _ dare _ this betrayer of their own kind come into  _ their _ home, attack  _ their _ Primera in cold blood,  _ trick _ him! How dare he! They should tear him apart! Rip him limb from limb and let Shiro lead! Yeah! But no one moved. In truth, if he could defeat Ichigo, what chance did any of them have against him right now? Even Aizen wasn't in top form yet. He'd only just escaped the Shinigami limiters. What could they do?

The roar of fury masked a shift in the reiatsu, the Pack was so focused on the usurper, they didn't notice the opening and closing of the Veil. Not until a gust of wind blew the last of the explosion away in a beat of large, black wings. 

Coughing and sputtering a second time to get the sand from their faces, the gathered Hollows gaped, a growing spark of something like hope beginning to shine about them as the dust cleared.

Azugiaro coughed, blood splattering his chin, and his hands came up to his chest. From his sternum the long, slender blade of Tensa Zangetsu emerged wet with blood and blacker than the sky above them. He tried to look over his shoulder, mouth forming words he had no breath to speak. And he began to scream, gurgling and wheezing, when black talons curved over the edge of his eyepiece. It only got worse when the bone pulled away from his skin, but he didn't have the volume to cover the Primera's words.

"High-speed regeneration."

And in a spray of blood, the false Quincy crumpled to the ground, sliding off of Ichigo's blade with a thump against the sand, his mask dripping in the drake's claws.

Grimmjow leapt down, ignoring the soon-to-be corpse of the unmasked and bleeding Quincy wannabe in order to directly pounce his mate, transforming back to his humanoid form as he went so when he landed it was on soft paws with naked skin as he started licking the blood away.

Starrk's snarl became a victory howl of joy, and Renji, Shiro, and Masaki all cheered, though naturally Masaki was loudest and proudest of all. Aizen managed to relax, his wings dropping, and he sighed with relief.

Ichigo stumbled a little, the weight of his Alpha just a touch too much at the moment after surviving the Sprenger explosion. "Mmm..."

"Allow me, Leader." Ulquiorra gently took the mask fragment so that Grimmjow could more completely gather the drake to him.

He and Szayel exchanged a glance, and the bat launched himself into the air, flapping his wings for altitude. As soon as the others were clear, he spun back for momentum, and lobbed the mask at the trophy wall with such force that it embedded itself as thoroughly as if Ichigo had done it. One more achievement for the King of the Sands. 

Then he alighted on the moonbathing rock, kneeling before Shiro. "I should have been here."

Shiro surged out from under the others and wrapped around him. "Ya couldn'a done nothin'. Was a Beta-challenge."

But he was shaking, having shared Ichigo's pain and expressed it when the Primera could not, lest he draw attention while he regenerated. It wasn't cheating if he just made a distraction!

Grimmjow picked Ichigo up entirely, kissing his face and cradling him to his chest protectively as he jumped down into the den and carried his mate off to finish healing.

"From what Szayel reported, my presence could have given Leader more warning. I was told he infiltrated the den itself, that is far too close for comfort. Especially with pups involved." Ulquiorra glanced at Szayel, who gave a small shrug.

He’d run for the strongest Alpha he knew. If Ichigo had ultimately failed, Szayel knew their best chances were with a combination of Starrk and Ulquiorra. No one else came close, except perhaps Aizen, and given the choice... none of them wanted to serve under Aizen again. Masaki's control of him or not. Thus, it was logical that he use the chaos of the fight to fetch the Cuarta.

Though, he did preen a little when Gin draped himself over his shoulders, whispering in his ear about how hot and bothered Nnoitra and his crew had gotten watching the fight, and, maybe they could sneak off with one or two of them for some... post-battle stress relief? Maybe?

Renji peeked up from behind the stone where he'd hidden himself from the now-dead arrancar, ears perked toward Szayel and Gin, figuratively.

Shiro rubbed himself on Ulquiorra, scentmarking him as his tail twitched spastically. "Mebbe. He was definitely too goddamn close fer comfort. Got even Starrk agitated."

The bat smiled, slightly and uncertain, but it was definitely a smile, and he settled his wings against his back. "Perhaps a hunt would help? Work out the residual irritation, and perhaps soothe the instincts to ensure that the trash was alone. I know I will feel better knowing the den is secure while Leader heals, and the pup would likely benefit from the lesson. Yes?"

He had not been sitting idle while in the Living World. Studying its animals and their pack behaviors, to further understand his own instincts, and where what he had grown up with clashed with what Ichigo conveyed during their previous conversation. He still couldn't say he was entirely committed to returning to Hueco Mundo full time, but he definitely wanted to be a part of what Ichigo described. And he hoped that by interacting with them, he could make up his mind.

Shiro looked back at the den, longing naked on his face, before he swallowed hard and nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, that'd be a good idea. Segunda!"

When Starrk's nose appeared at the edge of the hole in the sand, Shiro gestured him forward.

"We're goin' huntin'. Sweepin' th'territ'ry. Bring th'whelps 'long fer a huntin' lesson."

He blinked, but ducked his head and turned to retrieve the cubs.

"Awooyah!" Gin trilled shifting to fox form, and gave a headbutt to Renji's hip.

Nnoitra cackled, spinning Santa Teresa wildly. Starrk's reappearance, with Nel and Lily in tow, prompted Ulquiorra to take to the sky, and Szayel released his own 'wings' to glide across the sand after Gin and the others. They fanned out, all within contact of each other, but moving as a unit to clear the sand of anything or anyone that didn't belong. Being the weakest Alpha, Nnoitra held the rear point, almost chasing Ggio, Tesla, and Yylforte before him.

Renji looked confused, "Shouldn't we... I dunno... guard Ichi and the den?"

The mantis cackled again, "Naw, Leader's done his thing, and Kittyboy's with'im. Anythin' that comes within a kilo a this place'll find th'pointy end a Pantera in 'em. 'Course, that's anythin' that gets through us first. Eh, Red?"

He shoved Renji's shoulder with his own, and after that it was simple to relax into the shift. Why hadn't he done this before? Who was...? Oh. His reiatsu didn't even change all that much; his Shinigami form just melted away and in its place, he stood on all fours as a huge red tiger. Powerful shoulders, meant for endurance, and a whip-like tail for agility. It felt right! It felt  _ good! _

"Now yer gettin' it!" Nnoitra crowed, chasing him to join the other Beasts in the hunt.

Masaki drifted along, making Aizen carry her since they were both still recovering, and as they were among the weakest of the Betas (Aizen wasn't as weak as Nnoitra, though he wasn't up to full strength either) they were in the middle of the pack while Shiro took frontpoint, tail sweeping away his tracks. His neck arched high and proud to look around the sands, and so far he was satisfied deeply to see it was only the tiny sand-lizards burrowing to safety before their unified group. When they neared a border, he immediately turned them to scentmark that tree, practically rolling on it. The combined scent of the Pack was here, and anything stupid enough to think they were vulnerable would be lunch!

As soon as they were alone in the den, and Ichigo felt it the second the hunt took off, the Lead Beta gave a groaning stretch, popping joints that were still knitting together, and burrowing his nose into Grimmjow's chest. 

He purred, eyes closed, and tail ticking gently from side to side. "Mmmm, Grimmm~"

Grimmjow wrapped himself closer around him, protective and amorous and thrumming from both as he kissed into Ichigo's hair. "Mmm. Was pretty fuckin' hot, y'know. Watchin' you beat 'is ass inta th'sand," he purred, his own tail ticking contently.

"Heh." The Beta smiled, still purring.

After a few moments though, he frowned. A groan worked its way through his teeth, and he squirmed. He rolled onto his hands and knees, arching his tail and beginning to pant a little. Everything was hot. He felt feverish and yet not at the same time. Bending his chest to the sand of their bed, he rubbed his cheek and then rolled the rest of his body into the motion, twisting all the way over with a thump.

"Grrrrmmm..."

Oooohhh, that  _ scent _ . That posture! That sweet, sweet slur that meant he was forgetting how to even use words!

"Yer heat's on ya," he growled, low and rumbly in a way he knew would tingle and tickle all Ichigo's instincts. "Ain't it? Ya wan' me, my pretty Beta?"

"Prrrrrrrrr..." 

Ichigo squirmed on his back, hands tucked up near his chin. His eyes only opened halfway, the pupils blown wide. The panting only grew heavier as he kicked and twisted; no position was comfortable, though what he needed at that moment he couldn't articulate. Everything was just so much right then, and the only constant was the blue of Grimmjow's hair, the depth of his eyes, the freshness of his scent. 

He moaned, "Grrrrrrmmmm~!"

Grimmjow stalked over his body, nuzzling his way up Ichigo's stomach and chest until he got to his neck. Then, he teased ruthlessly, nipping and licking, but not actually biting down. He wanted him squirming  _ more _ , he wanted him furiously hot and needy. And when he had him just the way he wanted him… he'd Mate him.

The drake whined, batting at the Alpha above him and his tail lashed, impatient. He squirmed again, kicking out with a foot as if that would fix things. All it really did was fan his heat-scent.

Grimmjow inhaled it deep into his lungs, licking his teeth as his eyes narrowed, his own tail dancing above his back. The scent… he'd forgotten what it did to him, that scent!

Quick as a flash (never quicker than Ichigo, but in his heat-needy mind it seemed a blur) he reached for his shoulders, flipped him over, and yanked their hips up and together.

Crying out, Ichigo pressed his chest to the sands just to get his hips that littlest bit higher. Oh yes please! Oh! Oh please! His tail hiked all the way to the side, his nook was hotter than it had ever been, slick and wanting. "Nnnngh!!"

He laid his chest flat along Ichigo's spine, his own tail curled behind him in pleasure as he pressed hard against Ichigo's rear, lining up their bodies until he was able to ease himself into his mate's body, moaning into his skin at the hot, wanting feel of how ready he was to be mated. But his teeth didn't find Ichigo's neck quite yet as he waited to feel their reiatsu twine.

It was practically automatic now with as often as they'd done it consciously, the Beta's power unfurled itself to fill the room, porous and welcoming. Like a reflex, he did it without thinking. Washing back over them both drew a moan from him, and the sky of his inner world darkened as it began to mesh together.

Grimmjow stretched his out to meet it, letting them twist and mesh and equalize as he remained perfectly still inside his Beta. Only once they were completely and utterly in sync did he start to move; but the second they were meshed, he leaned forward and sank in his teeth until he tasted blood and locked his jaw.

The bite, the pain of it, spiked through Ichigo from Inner World to nook. He couldn't even moan. He could barely breathe for the way he was overwhelmed. It was freeing, it was intoxicating, it blew away all sense of self while at the same time giving him more than himself. They were like coffee and cream, forever changed for the way their reiatsu mixed together.

And fuck, did it make his body beg for orgasm like nothing else ever had.

He couldn't yet. No. There hadn't been enough yet. The bond needed to be fed. He needed to bring them both back to their connection, back in from where they broke in waves against the walls of the den. His nook clenched around Grimmjow's dick, hugging the barbs and triggering a rolling rhythm in his hips. All the while, instinctively, Ichigo began to absorb the vast ocean of power that was the two of them combined.

Grimmjow rutted him ruthlessly, hard and fast, his claws in his hips and his teeth making a Mark that would sear them both soul-to-soul. Even as his body's pleasure climbed, though, he was aware of everything Ichigo was doing. He couldn't come- neither of them could- until all was in harmony, and all their combined strength was nestled safely inside his Beta to protect and create their cubs. The power itself wouldn't let them fuck this up.

Across the sands from them, Shiro stumbled in their hunt, nearly bowled over by Ichigo pulling harder as his body fought his control. The physical stimulation drove them towards completion, but the flow of reiatsu held them back. It had to sing. It had to flood them both and wash back over Ichigo. It had to be seamless. It... It had to... Ohhh! Faster. More. Yes. There.

The Beta finally found his voice, "Griimmmmmmmm~!"

Grimmjow's answer was all growl, refusing to let his mate go even as he pounded him harder, reached for him deeper, let his reiatsu pull further and further away from him until it wasn't--there! It wasn't  _ his _ reiatsu anymore.

It was  _ theirs _ .

He pushed it all further into Ichigo even as his hips moved faster, feeling it all start to swirl like a tornado, its base anchored firmly in his mate.

Not just the base, but the center of the vortex, his body the maw of a black hole. Bigger and bigger, and more and more. His mouth held open in a silent scream, Ichigo couldn't say where the pleasure ended and his orgasm began. It all ran together as the power sink within him sucked down everything they had to offer and then some. It reached across the bond between the twins as thoroughly as if someone had grabbed a hold of Shiro's muzzle and yanked his head sideways. He tripped over his paws, skidding in the sand and overcome with the backlash.

Fuck it was hot...

"Nnnnn!!!" He whined.

Ulquiorra, despite how high up he was, heard that sound, and given what they all knew was going on back at the den, it wasn't that much of a leap to figure out exactly what had taken Shiro down to the sand.

The bat dropped like a stone, his reiatsu flaring and a very clear and very protective 'GO AWAY' signal lashing through it as he just short of fell on top of the white half of the Leader pair. He crouched over him and  _ growled _ .

It wasn't hard to scare them off. Nnoitra and Renji had both been sniffing, but the first knew very well where he was in the pecking order, Quinta or not, and the latter was primarily anchored to someone not in this world. True that also applied to Ulquiorra, but his loyalties had been divided practically from the moment he was brought back from the brink of death. Resurrection was all good and fine, but in Hollow society, there really wasn't anything quite like a Beta who could drive one to the very moment of reincarnation. And as for Ggio and Yylfordt, Deltas only stepped in when there was no Alpha available to mount. Tending to keep to their own gender for mating purposes, though not adverse to Beta participation. Convention meant that Nnoitra looked down the chain of command for potential mates, and the Deltas were just as happy to play Beta for him as to play Alpha for each other. Aizen, too, had been taking in the scent, but at Ulquiorra's claim he scattered with the rest, pulling Masaki with him with a gentle, protective touch. She let him, because he was her fraccion and she did trust him, even now that he'd lost.

Once that was settled, not that Ulquiorra really thought they would challenge him, he turned his attention to the male under him, starting to nip at his shoulders and the back of his neck, testing him cautiously. They were not pre-established like Grimmjow and Ichigo were; and while it was instinct for a Beta to want the strongest Alpha available, it wasn't impossible to be rejected if the Beta found one unsuitable for any reason.

Shiro glared over his shoulder, but upon recognizing the eyes that met him, his expression softened, grew needy. There was a moment of clarity before Grimmjow apparently hit Ichigo's prostate, because Shiro cried out in a draconic bugle, clawing at the sand and mimicking his King from reiatsu to body shape. He couldn't pour his power out though, and the drain on it left him  _ starving _ for it.

Approved, Ulquiorra fitted their hips together, shedding his fur to make it easier when they met and grinding his hips into his pale rear while his reiatsu rose and caressed over the white skin. He wasn't synced; he couldn't feed it into him, only offer it and hope Shiro could bring them into balance.

Ever the faithful support to his King's power, the Horse snapped the connection between Ulquiorra and himself so fast that it felt like electricity down the bat's spine. Being technically a secondary half to Ichigo's soul, however, meant that he didn't have a nook like Betas were supposed to have; and as far gone as they were, he could only bring himself to squeeze his thighs together around the growing hardness of Ulquiorra's dick.

Ulquiorra wrapped his wings around them both, a black mantle that left the cold out and kept darkness and warmth in, both of them sinking together as he thrust into the place Shiro had made. His reiatsu roared through the connection, straight through Shiro into the culmination of all their power and energies. He, however, was much more preoccupied with Shiro, setting his teeth into where neck and shoulder met and sinking them in as instinct demanded.

Whether it was instinct or luck, somehow it happened to be the opposite side to Grimmjow's hold on Ichigo, breaking skin and sending blood dripping around the other side of the pair's neck. Shiro moaned loudly, grinding back for stimulation, and Ichigo gasped, feeling the doubled sensation as a completion of the bond he hadn't been fully aware was being forged.

Ulquiorra thrust harder, driving them both--all?--on, and hissed into the flesh in his teeth, his wings pulling in tighter yet as he moved, his hands pulling down and around to hold onto Shiro's chest, unlike Grimmjow's ruthless hold on Ichigo’s hips. Their tinted energies, a beautiful color neither Shiro nor Ulquiorra could name, was magnificence itself, prompting Ulquiorra and Grimmjow both to push forth the last bits of what they had to give.

It all came to a literal climax when Ichigo did. Though externally it was nothing more than a few pulsing shots of pale fluid, there was an internal collapse through all three mindscapes that emptied into entropic darkness. Silent like the explosion of an atom bomb, there came a contracting through them all, a drawing into the center of all things. And then the expansion! Trees grew with elevators and glass windows in the trunks, skyscrapers branched off with limbs of steel with radio towers and lightning rods for leaves, and in the very middle of it all, where a Lake of Grief had once submerged the remains of a family home, bright, blinding spires like crystalline thorns broke through the ground. The brilliance made the ever-present sun a secondary light source. The clumps of jungle, both urban and otherwise, floated on asteroids orbiting the Great Bush. The bobbed and turned, sometimes upside down, sometimes not, slowly spinning around the primal nexus of light and new things.

Ichigo opened his eyes, feeling the wind on his face, and gazed in awe at the miles of white thorn rising above him. He stood on an outcropping of earth and pavement--all that was left of what had been a disputed territory between concrete and grass. He knew it circled the Bush without having to walk it, and was more drawn inward anyway.

It was spiky, thorny, the spires deadly in their gleaming sharpness… but when Ichigo touched the first of the spires, it melted away, opening to admit him. He was, after all, the focus and the Center, the trusted and valued Leader. The inside held absolutely nothing. An endless, blank nothingness protected endlessly by the lethal outer shell, insulating the interior from everything. No sound, no taste, even no breeze disturbed the space, in which Ichigo knew instinctively only those who belonged were allowed to safely enter.

He felt his purr within himself more than heard it, but he knew it was loud enough to echo--if such a thing was possible in that place. The Nest, his instincts supplied, and from nothing there came  _ something _ . It was warm and floating in comfortable suspension. An egg. And for a moment his mind balked at the concept of forever-shrinking internal worlds. But it needed his focus more, and he raised his hands to cradle it without touching the shell. Automatically the stores of reiatsu drained through his palms, surrounding the egg and bathing its shell in blue and green and red.

_ I will protect you. _  His words carried no sound, but existed all the same.  _ You are the light of my core and nothing will harm you. _

Then all at once, he was outside of the Nest again. The egg nestled safely within, and secure in a way only he could get to. He could sense others here; they would only reach the Nest itself if he brought them. It was his prerogative. Only the one who lived there would know the secret ways like he did. Because they were of one mind, one heart, one soul and this was the shape of them. It warmed him enough that his purr carried through the space between meteoroids, like a beacon for the others.

Another purr answered him, lower and more rumbling, and then another, higher and an echo of his own. The final one, the only other who knew the secrets of the Nest- indeed, knew where the Nest itself rested precisely- made a different sort of sound, like an imitation of a purr. It was nearly a hum, but one that echoed and bounced off the other three.

They four were in harmony--perfect harmony, and so they would stay. And when one reached, heard, felt, all did, and responded in kind.


End file.
